


Ravenstead

by TwoPercentMalk



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Comedy, Even if it means frying Amity's brain every time she winks, Expect some angst to come up..., F/F, Fantasy, Hurt/Comfort, I can already tell I'm going to be terrible with tags, Luz is somehow oblivious and flirty because I said so, Teen Romance, Teen rating is mainly for mild language and dark themes, There'll be plenty of Lumity but I also want to focus on the plot and worldbuilding, This is the first fanfic I've ever written I'm dying rn, We all know Amity won't do anything on her own so Luz needs to take initiative, and other characters of course, do people even read these?, there do be some angst in here doe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27116629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoPercentMalk/pseuds/TwoPercentMalk
Summary: Amity runs away from Blight Manor with no plan in mind and nowhere to go. A chance encounter (and subsequent theft) leads her to the Boiling Isles. - An Owl House AU in which a few key characters have their roles swapped, but retain similar personalities to the originals.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 67
Kudos: 259





	1. Amity Through the Looking Door

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick heads up that this first chapter provides some character backstory and worldbuilding and such, but if you want to jump to when Amity actually reaches the Isles, you can skip ahead to Ch. 2.

The cool breeze bit at Amity’s pale skin, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. It was oddly chilly for a morning in early June. Well, “morning” might not be the best word for it. Amity tapped her phone, cupping it in her hands to hide the dull blue light. 5:30 AM. She’d made good time.

Hoisting her bag over her shoulders, she trudged across the lawn, walking as silently as she could in her heavy boots. Her parents would have a heart attack if they saw her trampling the freshly cut grass, but they were still asleep, like most sensible people would be. Apparently, Amity wasn’t very sensible.

Passing the wrought iron gate at the end of the driveway, Amity almost turned to glance behind her, but stopped herself. There was nothing worth looking back at. The Blight Manor was beautiful, sure, but a prison nonetheless. Even as she marched out of the gate with a determined huff, Amity could still feel the mansion looming behind her, as if watching her every move. She shuddered. No time for that. Just one foot in front of the other.

The only light for Amity to guide herself by came from the occasional street lamp, glowing a pale, sickly yellow against the murky sky. There were hardly any stars visible, and those that were twinkled feebly, smothered by the darkness. A stab of nostalgia pierced her heart. Her mind drifted, sifting lazily through her memories. That one. She’d been sitting out in the yard with Ed and Em while the sun dipped past the horizon. As the rosy glow faded, stars slowly began to pop into existence, multiplying until they filled the heavens, winking merrily at her. Ed tried to point out the constellations to her, but she was only half-listening, her eyelids growing heavy, and Emira had cut him off after he tried convincing them that there was a walrus constellation. What a dumbass. Maybe she should’ve left a note for them after all.

Amity forced herself back into the present, slapping her cheeks a few times.

_ Now isn’t the time to get sentimental. Just keep going according to plan. _

Naturally, there wasn’t much of a plan. There never was. Her past efforts had been thwarted by her own uncertainty, or after being tracked down by her mother. But this time was going to be different. She could feel the determination burning in her stomach. She might not have anywhere to go, but she’d make do. Anywhere was better than Blight Manor. Amity quickened her pace, her heavy bag jostling her shoulder. The further away she was by the time her parents woke up, the better.

***

After what seemed like no time at all, the sun began to peek over the horizon, bathing the sky in a ruddy light. Blight Manor had faded into nothingness behind her, but Amity still wanted to put as much distance between her and that sick place as she could. The towering mansions and sheared lawns had made way for knotted trees and ragged bushes. Amity had been driven through here before, but she was still amazed that so much wild beauty could coexist with the upper crust’s need for order and organization.

The wind began to pick up again, the cold air whipping through her messy half ponytail. Amity shivered, running her hands through her auburn hair to smooth it. She’d planned on dyeing it a pretty mint green, but her mother had found the bottle of hair dye she’d stashed away and gave Amity the scolding of a lifetime. So much for Azura hair.

A hoarse caw made Amity jump. Spinning around, her golden eyes met small, beady blue ones. Amity led out a shaky sigh, clutching her chest. Just a raven. Nothing more. The bird gave her a contemptuous side-eye for a moment before beginning to preen its white plumage.

Wait… white plumage?

Amity rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times. Yes, she’d stayed up all night packing her bag and pacing around her room, but hallucinations seemed a bit too extreme. Sure enough, the raven was still there, its feathers the color of freshly fallen snow, and its eyes like frozen droplets. She considered taking her phone out to get a picture, but decided against it. The bird looked irritable enough as it was, and she didn’t want to risk it flying away before she could snap a photo, or worse, begin harassing her.

The cold air continued to bite at Amity’s skin, but the bird seemed unphased. Grumbling to herself, Amity slung her weighty backpack off her shoulders, letting it hit the ground with a muffled thud. The chalky raven gave a cry of protest, flapping its wings at the girl.

“Oh, shut it, you!” Amity growled as she unzipped the top of her bag, rummaging through it haphazardly. The bird looked offended, but obliged. Could birds be offended? Amity had heard stories about crows and ravens harassing humans that bothered them for years afterwards. She decided not to try her luck. Turning her attention back to her pack, she began rooting through. She’d made sure to pack as much as she could, but now the bag was stuffed with so much junk that she could hardly zip it closed. Carelessly tossing books and clothes to the side, she finally caught sight of the shockingly pink hoodie she’d been looking for. After struggling to find which sleeve was which, she yanked the hoodie over her head. A bit snug, but that was better than something baggy that would just let the wind in.

Amity stood up, cracking her back slightly before groaning at the mess she’d made while looking for her sweater.

“I don’t have time for this,” she complained as she began sorting through her discarded items. The raven didn’t offer any consolation. Lazy git.

“Socks? Check”

“Swiss Army knife? Check.”

“Embarrassingly juvenile bunny rabbit lunch bag? Check.”

“Diary… uh, not check?”

Amity felt around on the ground, but her hands only found cold concrete. She scanned the area, frowning, until her eyes fell upon a familiar leather-bound journal, lying by a twisted tree. How it got all the way over there, she had no idea, but she was too exhausted to bother questioning it. As Amity began to take a step toward it, the snowy raven strutted its way over to the journal, eyeing it greedily. The cover was a drawing she’d done of herself in full Azura cosplay, from flowing green hair to luminous staff, its crystalline tip crackling with raw power (and probably preparing to start firing lasers at her parents). Amity felt her face flush a little; she’d never had the courage to share her interests with anyone, even her siblings. Especially when they were this dorky.

The raven jabbed at the cover with its sharp beak, one icy blue eye still trained on Amity. If birds could be judgmental about hobbies, this one did an excellent job of showing its distaste.

“Hey, seeds-for-brains! Buzz off, would you?!” Amity began marching over to where the bird sat; no birdbrain was going to insult the Good Witch Azura if she had anything to say about it. Just as she got close enough to grab her diary, the raven snagged the journal its pale talons and took off into the trees. Amity stood there in shock for a moment, steam practically billowing out of her ears, before letting out a scream of frustration.

“Get back here, book bandit!” Amity quickly snagged her backpack from where it lay on the ground and plunged into the thicket.

***

Bushes and weeds tugged on her legs as she ran, the bird always just in sight, still toting the diary along with it. Amity was thankful she’d opted for boots over sandals as she barrelled through the trees, their branches scratching at her face and snagging her backpack as she went. The chase continued for what felt like hours until Amity crashed through one last curtain of leaves and found herself in a vast clearing. The grass blades were studded with dew, glistening in the light of dawn, and the trees she’d just burst through creaked forlornly in the breeze, casting strange shadows across the ground. A small wooden building stood in the middle of the lush field. Well, hardly “stood.” Its dark windows stared blankly into the distance, one side of the roof sagging inward, barely holding itself up.

Amity had no idea how a hut could’ve been left to sit there, much less one that was so run-down. As far as she knew, she was still in the hoity-toity part of town, and there was no way the residents would let a ramshackle building ruin this pristine field. If anything, they’d rather have another gaudy mansion put up in its place.

As she tentatively approached the shack, a scraping noise made Amity jump. There was that crummy raven again, dragging her diary up the steps, inching toward the front door. At least it was considerate enough to leave her diary’s custom-made cover facing up.

Amity considered just rushing over and grabbing the journal, but something about the front door gave her the heebie-jeebies. Ornate spirals were carved into the rich wood, and a single sulfurous yellow eye stared straight ahead, shining as if there was a consciousness behind it. A faint glow emanated from behind the door, which had been pushed open slightly. The raven hopped toward the doorway, diary in tow, and waddled inside without hesitation. Amity stood with bated breath, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Only silence.

“Okay Amity, just a crumbling old hut with a creepy eye-door. This is totally worth investigating for the sake of your diary,” Amity muttered to herself as she tiptoed closer to the door. Actually, it probably was worth it; if someone found her diary and returned it to her parents, they wouldn’t rest until they’d hunted her down and got a satisfactory explanation for each and every entry inside.

Taking a few deep breaths, Amity squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could, yanked the door open, and plunged into the light.


	2. A... Tepid? Welcome

Amity tensed up, waiting for the inevitable to happen. What that was, she wasn’t sure, but it was bound to be inevitable. Finally, after standing there with her eyes squeezed shut and her fists clenched for ages, she decided that the inevitable was, in fact, evitable. Slowly letting her muscles loosen, she opened her eyes. She was standing in a dark room, too pitch black to make out any details. The only light came from a doorway on the far end of the room. She couldn’t see the walls, but the exit seemed too far away for the room to fit inside that tiny shack. Plus, there’d been light spilling from behind the door she’d entered; this room was dark enough to feel like an endless void.

She reached behind her for the doorknob, but all she felt was cool, dusty air rushing through her fingers. Spinning around, she was face-to-face with the wall; no golden doorknob or amber eye staring back at her. Slowly backing away, Amity stuffed her shaky hands into her hoodie pocket, willing them to be steady. The darkness seemed to close in around her, suffocating her, her breathing growing rapid. Ominous sounds echoed from the distant exit, muffled rustling and murmuring snaking into the shadowy room.

“Okay Amity, it’s just a bad dream,” she whispered to herself, unable to hide the tremor in her voice. “Any second now, Ed and Em will come barrelling in and wake me up…” She was yanked out of her thoughts by a frosty voice cutting through the silence.

“What even is this? I told you to grab anything that could be magic-related, not some poor kid’s diary! Didn’t I teach you how to check your sources?”

A gasp almost escaped Amity’s throat, but she caught it just in time.  _ Her diary _ . The whole reason she was in… whatever this mess was. Maybe, if she could somehow grab her diary and sneak out, she could figure out where the hell she was. She inched forward, hoping to glean more of the conversation, but it didn’t sound like anybody else was talking. Just the same smooth voice as before.

“You’re telling me that you  _ actually took it from some girl?! _ Ugh, Titan give me strength…”

Amity’s winced as her foot struck something metallic, a loud clang reverberating throughout the room, cutting off the rest of the one-sided conversation. Of course that would happen. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as Amity’s heart jumped into her throat. All was silent, save for the dying echoes ringing around her. Then the sharp sound of heels on wood rang out, followed by another, and another, as a lean silhouette appeared in the doorway, the light streaming from behind veiling their face. With a sharp crackle, a flame sprang to life, throwing the shadowy figure’s features into sharp relief. Amity’s heartbeat reached a crescendo as she stood face-to-face with… a woman in a bathrobe? Okay, maybe not the most sensible thing to freak out over, but the build-up was killer.

Amity’s eyes darted to the flickering flame, dancing in the air above the woman’s hands. That didn’t seem normal. A wave of exhaustion crashed over her, and she promptly passed out.

***

“Hey… hey! You still alive?”

A reedy voice echoed inside Amity’s head, growing louder and more distinct. She groaned as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes, her vision slowly clearing. Peering down at her were two unblinking amber eyes set in bony sockets.

“King, leave her alone. We don’t want to give her another heart attack.”

The large eyes disappeared from Amity’s sight as she felt a weight ease off her chest, accompanied by soft grumbling. She eased herself up onto her forearms and scanned her surroundings. The room she was in looked like a Victorian living room had been mashed together with Maleficent’s castle. She was lying on an ornate couch, a soft pillow tucked under her pounding head. Bookshelves piled full of dusty tomes and various oddities lined the walls. The ruddy light of sunset flooded the room, casting hazy shadows. The woman from earlier was lounging in a nearby armchair, her shocking blue eyes trained on the girl’s face.

“Good, you’re awake. At least King didn’t make you pass out a second time.”

“Ugh, where the hell am I?” Amity groaned, her head falling back onto the pillow. Her headache was fading, but this was still far too much for anyone to take in at once.  
  
“Long story short, the Raven House. A place you never should’ve stumbled upon, but, thanks to my assistant’s lack of judgement, here we are. I suppose you’ll be wanting your journal back.” The woman flicked her finger in a small circle, a glowing ring appearing in the air above it. Amity’s diary drifted off of one of the many shelves surrounding the room, floating over to her side. It looked a little worse for wear, but was still intact. Amity stared blankly at it for a few seconds.

“Kleptomaniac ravens, floating diaries… yeah, I’m definitely dreaming.”

“I wish you were; it’d make matters a lot simpler,” the robed lady replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. “As things are, I’ll have to wipe your recent memories and send you back home.”

Amity’s jaw automatically clenched. Not that place. Her house, maybe, but far from being her home.

“Please, not there,” she whispered to herself, barely audible. The stranger’s ears twitched, somehow catching her words. Some of the ice in her eyes seemed to crack, but it quickly froze over again.

“No relatives or classmates?”

Amity just shook her head meekly. The woman gave a soft sigh.

“Very well. I try to avoid taking in strays, but I suppose I can let you stay here while you figure something out.” The woman rose smoothly, walking over to Amity and extending a pale hand. She gladly took it, weakly pulling herself into a sitting position. Now that they were closer, the girl could make out what looked like pointed ears peeking out from behind the lady’s jet black hair. Considering the chaos that had happened throughout the day, pointed ears were almost mundane.

“Thank you, miss…” Amity murmured breathlessly, her head buzzing. She wasn’t sure how much trust to put in the woman, but it wasn’t like she had anywhere to go otherwise.

“Lilith,” the woman replied. “And  _ that _ is King.” She jabbed her thumb over at her armchair, which the small, canine creature had hoisted itself onto, accompanied by lots of griping in the same high-pitched voice that had woken Amity. It was curled into a ball, breathing slowly, but had one yellow eye trained on the girl.

“He’s not exactly the most welcoming, but once you learn to overlook his…  _ outlandish _ claims, he can be quite the sweetheart.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the critter yawned, raising a paw to scratch behind a jagged ivory horn. Could he even feel it? “Now less talky, more nappy. The King of Demons needs plenty of beauty sleep.”

Amity couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. Despite his eerie appearance, the demon seemed more like a spoiled toddler than a ruler. Maybe all of that day’s weirdness was finally frying her brain.

“And you’re Amity, right?” Lilith asked, raising a hand before the girl could ask how she knew. “Don’t worry, I didn’t read through your diary. King tried to convince me to do it for blackmail, though.”

“I still stand by what I said!” King grumbled, his skeletal face smothered in cushions. Lilith just rolled her eyes before returning her attention to Amity.

“I guess we ought to get you accustomed to the Isles, if you don’t plan on leaving soon.”

***

After a long-winded lecture about the history of the Boiling Isles, demons, witches, magic, and more, Amity’shead was even closer to exploding than before. Studious as she was, she could hardly process Lilith’s spiel. Having spent her childhood hiding out in the local library, fantasy worlds were one of her go-to getaways from the pressures of reality. A world where she had the power to carve her own path, rather than be forced upon one at birth. Plus, being able to magically blow things up was always a positive. But this world seemed to have more horror aspects than she would’ve liked. She’d always shut herself in her room when the twins tried to convince her to watch scary movies with them, and now she’d been shoved into a dimension that would drive Stephen King to an early retirement. Seemed like she’d be pulling yet another all-nighter.

“This is simultaneously the coolest and most terrifying thing to ever happen to me,” she said in a dazed tone. She could’ve sworn she saw a smirk flicker across Lilith’s face, but it quickly vanished.

“Just avoid the things that want to eat you and you’ll be fine,” she replied in her usual terse tone.

“Practically everything here wants to eat me!”

“Mmm, closer to twenty-five percent.”

Not exactly the answer she’d wanted. Amity just groaned and let her head fall into her hands. The witch didn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor. Or much of any visible emotion, at that, besides occasional cracks in her stone mask. Or maybe Amity had just hallucinated those. Stifling a yawn, she stiffly rose to her feet. Lilith extended a ghostly-white hand as if to take Amity’s own, but hastily pulled it back, the frost in her eyes melting for a split second.

“Come on, King will find you somewhere to sleep. We don’t have another bedroom, but I’m sure we can make do.”

“Why do I have to do it?” King whined, still stretched across the armchair.

“Because you’ve been lying around all day. If the kid’s going to be here for a while, you’d might as well learn to get along with her. Surely I don’t need to remind you that you owe me after the toothbrush incident?”

Grumbling, King flopped off the couch, a golden tag swinging haphazardly on its crimson collar. Amity had been curious about it, but decided not to ask. Maybe it was just avant-garde demon fashion.

“Well, it’s true that I know all of the best sleeping spots,” the imp boasted, puffing out his furry chest with pride. “Alright, Emily, you’ve got yourself a deal!”

“Amity.”

“Yeah, like I said.”

Amity followed the demon as he bounded up a flight of stairs. He led her down a winding hallway and into a cramped room near the end, ranting about the sunlight’s perfect angle for afternoon naps like a tiny real estate agent. The walls were lined with even more bookshelves, filled with dusty volumes on healing and curse remedies. Amity just hoped that the skeletal hand holding the nearest row of books in place was a replica.

_ This place is like her personal library, _ she thought to herself. The cubicle was much more snug than her bedroom in Blight Manor had been. Perfect. The vast darkness of her room had been daunting; it drew out the feelings of loneliness of fear that were already brewing inside her. She was shocked out of her stupor as King came barging in once again, carrying mounds of pillows and blankets that heaped over his head. After ramming into the doorframe a few times, he finally found his way inside and dropped the pile on the floor. A bit unceremonious for a host, but Amity didn’t mind. Regardless of his Napoleon complex, the demon was surprisingly chatty and insisted on assembling the perfect “sleep cocoon.” As long as he was allowed to share it, of course.

Once they’d finished heaping blankets and pillows on top of each other, King waddled out of the room to tell Lilith they’d finished. And probably go back to sleep; that was a given. Lilith had said that she’d try to prepare something suitable to human taste, but Amity was too tired for the thought of food to even cross her mind. She collapsed onto the mountain of sheets, rummaging through her hefty backpack. After tossing some pajamas and assorted toiletries to the side, her hand closed around a familiar clump of soft fabric. The twins would tease her nonstop if they knew she still had it, but she’d kept him tucked away in her closet for years. She carefully pulled the stuffed animal out from the bag and set it at her side. His vibrant pink had faded over the years, and one of his button eyes had been replaced with one of the wrong color, but Otabin had stuck with her through thick and thin. There was no way she would’ve left the little rabbit behind.

A dim light glowed inside Amity’s bag. She’d forgotten that she’d stuffed her phone as deep inside as she could after setting off. She didn’t want to hear it buzzing when her parents woke up. Yanking it out from underneath a wad of spare clothes, she saw that the screen had been flooded with dozens of missed calls and texts from Ed and Em. None from her parents. Naturally. Thoughtlessly, she dragged her thumb over the most recent alert. How she even got connection, she didn’t know. Thank goodness for plot convenience. Before she could stop the call, it was picked up right away. The twins had probably kept their phones in their hands all day, waiting. The thought made her eyes tingle, but she blinked back the tears before they could surface.

“Amity, where the hell are you?!” Edric’s shaky voice burst from the speaker. Her breath caught in her chest; she hadn’t heard him use her actual name in years.

“I’m… I can’t tell you that. Mom and Dad will just track me down.”

“Who cares about them?! You haven’t answered any of our calls or texts, and nobody’s seen you around town! For all we knew, you could’ve been…” his voice died out, followed by rustling and whispering on the other end.

“I’m fine, Ed. I’m safe.” Amity grit her teeth as she tried to hide the tremor in her own voice.

“We’ve spent all day looking for you!” Emira’s voice rang out. “How were we supposed to know when it looked like you’d vanished without a trace?!”

“I’m sorry, guys. I was going to leave a note, but I didn’t want Mom and Dad to find it first. Where are they, anyway?”

“Downstairs. They haven’t said anything about you all day, but we can tell they’ve been arguing. You know we wouldn’t tell them where you were, right?”

“I know, Em. But it’s complicated. I don’t want you guys getting roped in too.”  
  
“Mittens, no matter how much we annoy you, you’re our sister. We’re not letting you disappear without at least staying in contact,” Edric sighed from the other end.

“I know, guys. I - I’m sorry…” Amity’s voice broke, and tears began streaking down her cheeks.

“Oh, Mittens…” Emira’s voice wavered, barely audible. “We should’ve been there to help. Just… promise to keep in contact with us, okay? Even if it’s just a call every night.”

“I will,” she whispered hoarsely. “I will.”

“We love you, Mittens. We might not be there with you right now, but both of us will do anything we can for you. Try to get some rest.” The call ended with a muted beep before Amity could reply. Shaking silently, she grabbed Otabin and held him to her chest, drawing slow, shaky breaths.

***

Lilith eased her way up the stairs. Night had fallen, but she still hadn’t heard anything from the girl. She reached the room King had helped set up, peering inside. The girl - no, Amity - was curled in on herself, snoring softly. Dried tear lines glistened on her cheeks, illuminated by starlight. The witch balled her hands into fists, letting out a gentle sigh. She’d wanted to ask more about the kid’s life so they could get her back home sooner, but she knew better than to push a touchy subject. It didn’t seem like home was a place she wanted to return to, anyway.

With a swish of her finger, Lilith wordlessly commanded the blankets to swaddle Amity before leaving, closing the door with a soft click behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How am I not supposed to cry when writing the scene with Ed and Em???


	3. Marketplace Mischief

Amity awoke to the feeling of something soft twining itself around her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into the round face of an owl-like creature, whose serpentine body had wrapped around her while she was asleep.

“Hi there, new friend! What’s yooooooour name?”

Amity’s scream pierced the heavens.

***

After Lilith had rushed upstairs and threatened the foul beast with a broom, it retreated out of the open window, hooting in protest. What a way to start the day.

“Sorry about Hooty,” Lilith groaned, shutting the window he’d poked his head through. “He makes for a state-of-the-art defense system, but doesn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space. Plus, he completely ruins the whole raven theme I have going.” Amity wasn’t sure she heard her right;  _ defense system? _ Maybe some things were better left unexplained.

“It’s fine, really. I’ve had ruder awakenings,” she replied, twisting herself free from the jumble of blankets. Lilith gave her a small smile.

“Well, you’d better get ready,” the witch said as she stepped out of the doorway. “If you’re going to be settling in here, you’ll have to start giving me a hand from time to time.”

***

As it turned out, Lilith had an extensive collection of books on human cuisine. Given the sheer number of bookcases crammed inside her home, it wasn’t all that surprising, but they still seemed out of place in a place like the Raven House. When Amity tried asking about it, Lilith just gave her a half shrug.

“Research,” she responded bluntly. “Muninn runs errands for me in the human world sometimes.”

“Moony?”

Lilith gestured to an alabaster staff resting near the front door, upon which the carved figure of a raven was perched.

“He’s the reason you got dragged here, after all.”

Amity pointed two fingers to her eyes, then jabbed them in the direction of the staff. If that birdbrain came after her stuff again, she was going to bake it into a pie. Lilith handed her a plate of what appeared to be eggs, but with a light lavender yolk.

“I don’t exactly have access to human ingredients, but I’m sure there are plenty of substitutes,” she said, twirling her finger as the dirty dishes danced through the air and stacked themselves neatly in the sink. Amity eyed the eggs cautiously.

“What if I’m allergic to them or something?” She carefully jabbed one with the prong of her fork, causing lilac yolk to ooze out. Lilith paused for a moment.

“Well, it’s either those eggs or something I  _ know _ is toxic,” she said after a brief silence. “That’s what my books on antidotes are for, anyway.” Not exactly reassuring, but Amity took a small bite anyway. It tasted like normal eggs, and she didn’t collapse in agony, so she shoveled the rest into her mouth and hurried to get dressed.

***

Lilith had refused to let Amity leave without covering her ears. Something about interrogation and dissection, which Amity decided she wasn’t too keen on. She’d thrown on a simple grey tee and jeans, and jammed a maroon beanie over her unkempt hair. Now they were speed-walking away from the house as fast as they could, hoping to duck around the corner before Hooty could wake up and try to rope them into conversation. Lilith had exchanged her bathrobe for a simple ebony dress, which danced above her ankles as they hurried along. Sleepy griping could be heard from inside her handbag, which she’d rudely shoved King into when he refused to get up on his own.

“What exactly is all this stuff for?” Amity wheezed, hauling along a heavy case that made jangling noises with each step she took.

“Work,” Lilith responded. She really loved her curt, single-word answers. “I run a potions stand in the market, and I could use a third pair of hands to help out, especially since King doesn’t do much besides draw in customers and drive them away just as quickly.”

“I resent that!” the demon barked from the witch’s handbag. Lilith pretended she hadn’t heard him, pulling her cowl over her head as they entered town.

Bonesborough sprawled out before them, a winding maze of medieval houses, boisterous street vendors, and some buildings that looked far too much like monstrous jaws for Amity’s comfort. Lilith was attempting to explain some of the town’s history and some of its famous sights, but Amity was too enthralled by everything around her to take any information in. She might not be a horror fan, but this little town was so full of life that she could almost ignore the sprites that kept threatening to eat her skin. If only she’d packed a fly swatter.

Once they’d reached the marketplace, which was packed full of booths with punny names and outlandish trinkets, Lilith dumped her bag on the ground (earning an indignant squeal from King, who scrambled up onto Amity’s shoulder) and tapped it with her staff, watching as its contents unfolded themselves, twisting into shape until a shaded stall had sprung into place. Amity left staring in awe.

“Wow…” she said in a daze, eyes wide. “When do I get to learn how to do that?”

Lilith, with a puzzled look, opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shout from across the market.

“HEY, LILITH!”

“Oh, no…” the witch sighed, covering her eyes with her hand. “It’s too early in the morning for this.”

A younger witch, about Amity’s age, skidded to a halt in front of their stand. She was wearing high-waisted shorts and a simple t-shirt, breathlessly running her hands through her messy pixie cut. Was it called a pixie cut on the Boiling Isles if there were actual pixies there?

“Your favorite apprentice is here!” the girl said in a sing-song tone, causing Lilith to groan in exasperation.

“How do you have this much energy every single morning?”

“Aww, don’t act like you didn’t miss me! Besides, I came to help out; you know you can’t rely on King to do anything.” The witch gave a bright grin, and Amity almost felt her heart skip a beat. Almost.

“It’s the weekend, Luz. You know you don’t need to come in.”

“Pssh, it’s not like I have anything better to do,” Luz waved Lilith off, before peeking around her and catching sight of Amity. “No… don’t tell me… I’ve been replaced already!” She fell dramatically to her knees, before shooting the human a quick wink.

“I, err…” Amity stammered, but Lilith cut her off.

“She’s my cousin’s kid. They sent her to stay with me for a bit, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Besides, if I cut you loose, you’d wreak havoc.”

“Oh, you flatter me so!” Luz rose to her feet, extending a toffee-colored hand to Amity. “Sorry about that, I just couldn’t resist the urge to mess with her. I’m Luz!”

“Uh, Amity!” she squeaked, taking Luz’s hand in her own. Were her palms always this sweaty? The girl gave her a sweet smile, warm brown eyes shining with exuberance.

***

The trio worked through the morning, bottling and packaging the multitudes of potions that Lilith had prepared. King just lounged in the sunlight, occasionally making a snarky remark or trying to startle them. Luz pelted Amity with questions as they worked, most of which Lilith answered for her; she was surprisingly good at coming up with backstories on the fly. Amity was too busy being distracted by Luz’s obnoxious antics. Not by the lopsided smirk she gave when telling jokes. Nope. Not at all.

Once the sun had crawled to the top of the sky, Lilith closed down the shop, cracking her back as the stall and its components folded themselves neatly into her bag.

“Decent business today,” she grunted, rubbing her neck. She tossed Luz a sack of coins, which the girl nearly fumbled. “Why don’t you two go out and get something to eat before we head home? Get something for King, too, or he’ll throw a fit.”

“Aye aye!” Luz gave the older witch a mock salute, before turning on her heel and marching away with Amity in tow. Luz dragged her around the market for some time, eyeing the bizarre souvenirs they were selling, from crystalline flasks to merchandise for grudgby, whatever the hell that was. Luz was practically a constant bundle of energy. When she wasn’t walking about or chatting with Amity, she always found something else to do; fiddle with a pen, drum her fingers on her thighs, so on. After finally giving into temptation and buying a grudgby jersey, she tossed the shirt to Amity, who caught it gracefully. With her face.

“Wha- for me?” she yelped as she yanked the fabric out of her face. Luz gave her a soft smile.

“Well, yeah! It seemed like you were stuck in your head and I didn’t want you feeling left out. Besides, I already have a shirt like this, so now we can match!”

Did that girl ever think before speaking? Amity nearly choked, her cheeks tingling. There was no way anyone could be that oblivious.

“If you don’t like it, I’m sure I can find someone else to give it away to…”

“No!” Amity shouted, louder than she’d intended. She buried her face in the shirt, her cheeks burning even hotter. “No, it’s fine. I’m… I’m glad you thought of me.” She mentally kicked herself.  _ Get it together. _

Luz was silent for a moment, giving Amity a confused look, before she began shaking with barely-contained laughter.

“Titan, you should’ve seen your face!” she wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. Amity couldn’t help but give her a small grin in return, the heat still stinging her cheeks. “Okay, okay, let’s go grab some food before Lilith abandons us.” Luz wrapped her hand around Amity’s wristed and dragged her along, ranting about some sort of pastry they sold nearby. She couldn’t help but notice how warm Luz’s hands were, or how easily their hands could interlace... Amity frantically shook the thought from her head, biting her lip as she followed. Maybe Luz really was just that oblivious.

***

Once she’d completely emptied the bag of coins, Luz had marched Amity all the way back to where Lilith was still waiting, trying to wake up King, who had splayed out in the middle of the road and firmly refused to move. The relief on her face was obvious when she caught sight of the girls.

“Sorry Lilith, I got a little sidetracked,” Luz chirped, handing her a baggy of pastries.

“Are you trying to bribe me with sweets?” Lilith said, eyeing the sack with suspicion.

“I mean, they were supposed to be for him,” Luz jabbed her thumb in King’s direction, who’d begun frantically looking around for the source of the sugary scent. “But I guess you can have them? I’m sure he’s got plenty of snacks stashed away.” Lilith chuckled, hoisting the bag out of the demon’s reach when he made a leap for it.

“I’m not one for sugar anyway. C’mon,” the witch slung her handbag over her shoulder. The group set out from the market, the afternoon sun beating down upon them. They’d made it about halfway when Lilith suddenly spun around, her dress billowing wildly.

“Wait, why are  _ you _ still here?” she pointed a sharp nail at Luz. The girl just gave her a smug grin.

“My mom’s still expecting me home later this evening, and King and I have an urgent Boo-Boo Buddies meeting regarding those pastries.”

“ _ Boo-Boo Buddies?! _ ” Amity snorted. It sounded like something a gang of toddlers would name themselves.

“Do not say that sacred title in jest!” King squealed, pointing menacingly at Amity. Or at least it would’ve been menacing if he wasn’t a third of her height. Luz picked him up and slung him under her arm, grinning mischievously.

“Don’t make us induct you into the cult,” she said, letting out a maniacal cackle. Lilith just gave an exhausted sigh.

“How does your mother handle your energy?”

“She doesn’t! That’s why you’re stuck with me right now. Oh, hi Hooty!”

Amity had been so drawn into the conversation that she didn’t even notice they’d reached the house. Hooty tried to wrap them into an armless hug, but Lilith grabbed his face and shoved him away while they entered.

“Okay, bye guys! See you later!” he said, his voice becoming muffled as Lilith shut the door. She set her staff near the entryway and sent her bag whizzing onto an armchair with a flick of her finger. Luz flung herself onto a nearby couch with a content sigh, coaxing King over with the bag of sweets.

“Alright, I need to go lie down. You sap the energy out of me,” Lilith muttered, running her hands through her sleek hair. Luz sat up and pouted at her.

“Aww, no lessons?” Luz pulled her best puppy eyes and stared forlornly at the older witch, who seemed unaffected. Even just seeing that made Amity want to melt.

“Not when you just march up to my house without warning me,” Lilith retorted.

“I did!”

“When we were already halfway here.”

“I give,” Luz groaned, sinking into the couch as Lilith trudged upstairs, leaving them alone; the silence between the two girls was deafening. Amity fiddled with a strand of hair, avoiding Luz’s gaze.

“I’m just gonna…” she said in a shaky voice, pointing at the staircase before bolting after Lilith. She scrambled to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and sinking to the ground, back against the wall. Why was this so hard for her? She was a Blight; she’d been taught how to deftly manipulate social interactions since she could speak. Now this stupid girl had come bounding up to her and turned her into a stammering mess.

_ No. No. No. You’re not even part of her world. Think about what Mom would say if she saw you like this. _

Amity tugged off her beanie, combing her hands through her chestnut hair. All she had to do was put on a straight face and go downstairs, just like when her parents would invite snobby guests over. She lightly slapped her cheeks as she rose to her feet, reaching for the doorknob. Just as her hand was about to close around it, the handle twisted on its own and the door sprung open. Amity jumped back, a short yelp escaping her mouth.

“Eep! Sorry!” Luz flinched back too. “I thought you were in your room, and King was asleep, so…” Her voice died out as her eyes darted back and forth, mouth agape in awe. Too late, Amity clapped her hands to her ears. Her  _ rounded _ ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LUMITY TIME BAYBEE
> 
> This story won't be 100% Lumity focused (I have plans for worldbuilding and other characters' roles to work on), but I cannot deny myself the pure joy that is Lumity. Amity's freaking out because, like in TOH, this is her first major crush and has no idea how to deal with it, especially after growing up in the Blight household...
> 
> Thank you all for your kind words on the previous chapters! I know this fic isn't exactly viral or anything, but I've always been anxious about sharing my work, so seeing so much positivity made my day. Week, actually.


	4. Melting

Amity’s heart plummeted into her stomach. Hardly a day on the Boiling Isles and she’d already been found out. She’d have to go back. Back to Blight Manor, back to her lavish little prison. What would Luz think of her now? Wait, why was she thinking about  _ that? _

“You’re human?” Luz’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Amity could only manage a weak nod, lowering her hands to her sides in defeat. “That is so… cool!” the witch squealed, bouncing with excitement. Okay, maybe Amity should’ve expected that sort of reaction, but she was still taken aback.

“You mean no dissection?” she stumbled over her words as Luz leaned closer to examine her rounded ears.

“What kind of horror stories has Lilith been telling you?” she scoffed. “I doubt anyone would want to dissect you. Except maybe the Emperor’s Coven. Or Gus.”

“I’m getting very mixed messages here.”

Luz gave her a sly grin, leaving an uncharacteristic silence to linger for a moment before reaching up and giving one of Amity’s ears a light flick. Giggling uncontrollably as Amity’s face flushed, she placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Relax, I’m not going to rat you out or anything. Besides, Gus would rather get an interview than an autopsy.” An image of a cloaked figure holding a light to her face while she was tied down formed in Amity’s head, but she did her best to push it to the back of her mind.

“Well, we should probably head back downstairs before King tries to bust into the pantry or something,” Amity grimaced as, right on cue, a loud crash echoed up the stairwell, accompanied by the little demon spewing curses. Luz sucked her breath in through clenched teeth, wincing at the sound.

“Funny you should mention that.”

They both rushed downstairs, hoping to placate him before he caused any more property damage.

***

After a few minutes of wrestling King away from a cupboard full of snacks, the girls collapsed onto the couch, panting. Despite his small stature, the demon could put up one hell of a fight when food was on the line. After Luz bribed him with one of the pastries she’d bought earlier, he’d said something about a legally mandated break before slinking off to find a puddle of sunshine to take over.

“Alright, show me some cool human magic!” Luz flipped onto her stomach, beaming with excitement. Amity couldn’t help but laugh as the witch stared up at her with the most charming puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

“God, I wish we had magic,” she replied, reminiscing on all the times she’d act out fantasy books to herself in her bedroom. “We’ve got some pretty impressive technology though.”

“Yeah, but Lilith won’t let me look at the human junk in her storage, or even tell me how she gets a hold of it!” Luz pouted. Amity winced at the thought of all the havoc she could wreak.

“That’s probably for the best,” she muttered to herself, running her hands through her hair. Even after trying to fix it up in the bathroom, it probably looked like a bird’s nest after being stuffed into a beanie all day, and she didn’t have anything to put it up with.

“Your hair’s really pretty,” Luz murmured, gazing at her with a half-smile. Amity felt a squeak escape her lips as her heart skipped a beat.  _ No, no, play it cool. _

“Oh, this mess?” She twirled a finger through one of her copper locks. “It probably looks like I just woke up.”

“I can’t even get my hair to grow that long. Once it gets there it just sorta… boom!” Luz mimicked an explosion coming from her head. “It’s like a big, fluffy cloud. Besides, I think the shorter hair suits me.”

“It does!” Amity exclaimed, feeling her ears burning as the words slipped out. Luz seemed stunned for a moment, but gave a coy grin to mask it.

“Aww, does it? We just met and you’re already being so bold,” she chuckled. A tea kettle began screaming in Amity’s head as smoke poured out of her years. Okay, maybe the smoke was an exaggeration, but she’d definitely just blown a fuse.

“Anyway!” she peeped, her voice several octaves too high. “Human stuff! Yep!” She dug her phone out of her pocket, checking for any messages. It wasn’t like she’d get any, unless they were from Ed and Em, but the habit was still burned into her memory. Luz peered over her shoulder at it.

“Ooh, glowy,” she whispered, making Amity jump a little. “It looks like our scrolls, just… blockier.”

“Scrolls?”

Luz drew a spell circle in the air, causing what appeared to be a small roll of parchment to appear in her hands, roughly the same size as Amity’s phone.

“See? We can call or message each other on them, or scroll through Penstagram, or play games.”

“So it basically is just a phone?”

“I guess so.” Luz shrugged. “It’s a shame that we probably can’t send messages between the two.” Amity still couldn’t tell if she was an incredible flirt or just dense. Probably just dense. She spent the next hour sharing whatever random information she could about the human world to Luz. How some pieces of technology worked, her favorite animals, the languages she’d been taught; anything she could pull off the top of her head. Luz stared at her in wonder the whole time, only interrupting to ask questions or make cheesy jokes.

“Why’d you come here anyway?” she asked suddenly, twisting about to face Amity, who faltered for a moment. She’d been dreading this question since she’d arrived in the Isles, but Lilith seemed to have a silent understanding about not pressing it. But there was no way she could say no to Luz’s chocolate puppy eyes.

“I… didn’t belong at home,” she mumbled, fiddling with her hoodie. “I didn’t mean to come to the Boiling Isles, but I guess I just stumbled across this place. Lilith found me and took me in.” She didn’t want to delve into how she’d reached the demon realm; that bizarre door was probably best kept under wraps. Luz gave Amity a concerned frown, reaching out and gently brushing her hand against Amity’s own.

“I’m sorry, Amity. I know what it’s like being alone,” the young witch looked away, blinking hard. “But even if you’re not from the Isles, that doesn’t mean you can’t belong here, right?”

Amity’s brain felt like static. She’d spent her childhood surrounded by the mansion’s walls, and those of her own making. Now, only having spent a day here, the Raven House already felt like a cozier home than Blight Manor ever had. Maybe Luz was right.

“Only if I get to join the Boo-Boo Buddies Club,” she snickered. Luz tapped her chin contemplatively before admitting defeat, giving Amity an overly theatrical handshake.

“Just wait until Gus hears about my day today,” she chuckled menacingly.

“I thought we agreed on not blabbing about it!” Amity hissed, but Luz just waved her off, assuring her that her human fanatic friend, and some other girl she’d roped in without explanation, would be tight-lipped. Amity hoped like hell they would be; she trusted Luz, but getting found out so shortly into her time on the Boiling Isles had made her paranoid.

“I’ve only been here for a day and my cover’s been completely blown…” Amity grumbled under her breath, but Luz perked up.

“Wait, only a day?!” she squealed with excitement. “Ooh, I get to show you around Bonesborough, and we can go to the library, and you could even come hang out after school!” Amity admired Luz’s enthusiasm, but all of these ideas sounded suspiciously like dates. Not that she’d mind. Wait, why wouldn’t she mind? She shoved the question to the back of her mind, as one word had jumped out to her.

“School?” she blurted out while Luz continued listing potential activities for them. The young witch raised her eyebrow.

“Well, yeah? Don’t humans do that too?”

“Of course we do!” Amity sputtered. “I mean, it makes sense that you’d have it, but I didn’t know if you guys just sorta did magicky stuff naturally, or what.” 

“I mean, we can,” Luz said as she drew a small circle in the air, a tiny ball of light appearing at her fingertip. “But we still need to learn how to control and amplify it. I bet I could teach you some stuff I know!” Amity tried to tell her that Lilith hadn’t heard of humans doing magic, but Luz wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I’m sure we can find stuff in the library if you want, or a teacher at school might know,” she drummed her fingers, lost in thought. “ _ Or _ we can loot Lilith’s place looking for stuff.”

“Not happening.”

“Aww, why do you have to ruin my fun?” Luz pouted, but Amity held firm.

“Because Lilith will kill us, and if that happens, you won’t be able to show me around town,” Amity smirked as she saw Luz’s face fall.

“You can’t just negate my argument with my own ideas!” she groaned into her hands, falling back onto the couch. Amity fell silent, doubt beginning to seep into her thoughts.

“Are you sure you’d want to do all that anyway? I mean, why invite me along? You already have those other two.” Amity balled her hands into fists. She knew she was being irrational, but no sane person would want her along, right? Ed and Em were always the ones who got invited to parties back home; she never really wanted to go to any, but seeing them grinning ear-to-ear when they returned always stung.

“Amity, I wouldn’t invite you if I didn’t want you along,” Luz furrowed her eyebrows, gazing at the other girl with concern etched onto her face. “We’re friends, right? Us weirdos gotta stick together.”

_ Friends. _ The word stuck fast in Amity’s mind. The closest thing to a friend she could remember having was Otabin, or the neighborhood kids she’d play with when she was young. Now this nutty girl she’d known for all of a few hours was already showing her more affection and empathy than she’d felt in… in a long time. She felt her face burn in shame as tears trickled down her cheeks; she tried to brush them away, but she caught Luz’s eye and swore she could see something melt inside them.

“Oh, Amity…” Luz whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. Amity flinched at the contact, but quickly melted into the other girl’s arms, shaking as her body was wracked with sobs.

“I’m sorry,” she hiccuped, hiding her face in the crook of Luz’s neck. “I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have to see me like this…”

“Shhh…” Luz leaned back until they were lying down on the couch together, still wrapped in each other’s arms. “Everyone cries, Amity. I don’t care how stoic you think you are; you can always come to me.”

Amity drew in shaky breaths. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to start bawling in front of Luz. Luz wasn’t supposed to be this forgiving. But she was still there, humming sweetly to her. She smelled like pastries and potions; like home.Amity buried 

her face into Luz’s shirt, her heartbeat gradually slowing down.

***

Lilith found them there a few hours later, curled up on the couch and snoring lightly. Luz frantically explained how she’d accidentally discovered Amity was a human, but skipped over Amity’s tearful meltdown, which she was grateful for. After making Luz swear to secrecy ( _ Good luck with that, _ Amity thought), Lilith sent her home, with Muninn to accompany her on the way. She’d thought about grilling Amity for information, too, but one look at the girl’s weary face was enough to make her drop it. Maybe the next day, when she was busy helping Lilith at her stand and her mind was on other matters.  
  


The rest of the night passed uneventfully, minus King’s outrage that his Boo-Boo Buddy had left without a word. Amity turned in early, dragging her feet up the stairs and down the hallway until she collapsed on her nest of blankets. Rummaging around for her pajamas, she caught sight of a bundle of fabric by her backpack. Rolling off the mound of sheets, she grabbed the grudgby shirt and slipped it on. It was a bit oversized, but she could almost feel Luz’s arms still wrapped around her. Holding the jersey tight to her chest, she flopped back down with a sigh.

  
_ I wonder if Luz is wearing hers right now... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Amity makes her first friend on the Boiling Isles. Or at least the first friend that's her age. This was a pretty deep chapter for me to write, since a lot of Amity's emotions here are similar to those I've dealt with for years, but Luz should be able to help build up her confidence. Lilith and Amity are much more paranoid about her identity as a human being found out than Eda and Luz in TOH are for various reasons. Especially because Eda and Luz aren't exactly the most cautious...
> 
> Also it's my birthday today (10/28) so uhhh poggers.


	5. Potions and Pondering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, 100+ kudos and 1,000+ hits?! You people are insane. I've always enjoyed writing, but I never thought I'd see the day that people would actually read and enjoy my work. I can't say this enough, but thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

By the time Amity woke up the next day, the sun had already risen high into the sky, its light flooding the room. King had managed to slip in without waking her and was now curled up in a ball, Otabin clutched tightly to his chest. She considered nabbing the precious stuffed animal from him, but decided against it; despite his destructive tendencies, he seemed harmless enough while asleep. The events of the previous day were still churning about in her head, looping constantly. Amity’s chest grew heavy as a torrent of shame washed over her. She knew better than to let her emotions get the better of her, and made sure to learn that lesson a long time ago. But here she was, sobbing her heart out to some poor girl she’d just met. Luz didn’t deserve that kind of weight on her shoulders; it was hers and hers alone.

But she still couldn’t shake the tender memory of Luz’s embrace, holding her close as she broke down in her arms. She quickly shoved the thought into the back of her mind. Negative emotions were supposed to stay under wraps; Luz was just too kind for her own good.

***

Amity rushed down the stairs, hoping she hadn’t made Lilith late for work by sleeping in so much, but instead found her in the kitchen, examining an ornate cauldron as it bubbled. An oddly familiar scent wafted in the air… pine sap? The smell made Amity feel a pang of homesickness she didn’t know she had. The demon realm was still so alien to her; she’d only been there for a couple days, after all. Lilith glanced up from the pot, eyes narrowing as she honed in on Amity’s shirt.

“Where’d you get that?” She jabbed a spoon covered in cauldron gunk in Amity’s direction, who felt her cheeks pink a little.

“Oh, Luz bought it for me yesterday,” she replied, smoothing out the wrinkles on her grudgby jersey. “She said she has a similar one, anyway…”

“It seems like you two have grown close rather quickly,” Lilith said, unable to hide the smirk that tugged at her thin lips.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Amity grumbled.

“Take it as you will,” the witch shrugged, turning her attention back to the crucible before her, which had begun to spew light green steam into the air. She scowled at the steam as she brushed it away with her hand. “Still the wrong color.”

“I hope that’s not breakfast,” Amity teased, peering into the pot of frothing sludge. “Shouldn’t we be at the market by now, anyway?”

“The best part of being self-employed is deciding when you work.” Lilith skimmed through the book at her side, muttering under her breath. Amity figured it would be best to let her concentrate; she didn’t want whatever was in the cauldron to explode. But just as she stepped out of the kitchen, Lilith called out to her:

“Oh, speaking of Luz, she dropped off some stuff for you earlier.” Amity whirled around, almost tripping over her own feet in the process.

“Huh?! When? Why didn’t you wake me?” she pelted Lilith with rapid-fire questions. Another smug grin ghosted over the witch’s face.

“Oh, the folly of youth. I offered to get you, but she said she didn’t want to bother you. I just left it all on the armchair for you.” Heading over to the chair, Amity found a small pile of books waiting for her, with a note on top, written in large, looping handwriting.

_ I remembered you saying that you hadn’t found much to help you learn about how to do magic, so I managed to convince some of the teachers at Hexside to let me borrow these books. They just don’t know that it’ll be for an indefinite period of time. Not like they can stay mad at one of their tops students! I’m sorry for upsetting you yesterday, and not being able to see you this morning, but Lilith has my contact info, so you can reach me through her if you want to hang out again. As long as you’re not too sappy, or I’ll never hear the end of it. Love, Luz _ .

Okay, she was definitely framing this. She delicately traced her finger over the letters.  _ Love. _ It’s probably just some eccentric Luz thing. Hopefully. Gently placing the note in her pocket, she looked over the books she’d been left. They seemed to be normal enough, even if the ones with blinking eyes and actual bony spines were a bit freaky.  _ Hexside’s History of the Boiling Isles, On Wilde Magicks, Binky Bunny’s Busy Day… _ okay, maybe that last one seemed out of place, but this was still a treasure trove of information, and who knew what secrets Binky Bunny held. Scooping the books off the chair, she sat down and grabbed the nearest one, hoping to read as much as she could before King got up and started demanding attention.

After what felt like an eon, Amity’s head was filled with TV static. The books were filled to the brim with terms and information she didn’t understand at all, even though it was probably child’s play for a Boiling Isles native. Cryptic runes were sketched onto some of the pages describing certain spells or techniques, but they were entirely unfamiliar to the human. Letting out a groan of frustration, she trudged back into the kitchen, slumping into a nearby chair. Lilith raised an eyebrow at her.

“You were in there for all of thirty minutes.”

“It’s too much magicky stuff for my human brain to handle,” Amity grumbled. The older woman tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment.

“You could learn potion-making,” Lilith said after a brief silence. “Both Luz and I could teach you, after all.” Amity bolted upright, her eyes gleaming.

“You’d really do that?!”

“Why not?” Lilith was taken aback by Amity’s enthusiasm, but pressed forward. “I’m sure Luz would be more than happy to give you pointers, and I could always use more hands on deck. Hooty, be a dear and turn on the stovetop.”

‘I’m an owl, hoot-hoot!” came his muffled reply, but a flame flickered to life under an empty cauldron. Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“And you’re going to be an ingredient in my next potion batch if you don’t watch it. Come here, Amity.” The girl stood next to Lilith, buzzing with excitement, even if she did her best to hide it.

“The thing about potions,” Lilith began as she rummaged through the cabinets and drawers for ingredients, “is that they don’t require you to put magic into them. Witches can use their magic to amplify or alter their concoctions, but the ingredients and the steps taken to prepare them are what give potions their effects. Thus, even a human should be able to make functional potions.  _ If _ they take proper precautions.” She jabbed a finger at Amity, who was prodding at a peculiar root of some sort.

“Sorry,” Amity mumbled, but Lilith just waved it off.

“Just don’t touch anything that looks too toxic. Or anything that looks even remotely toxic, for that matter.” Amity eyed the root cautiously, drumming her inky black nails on the counter.

“Alright, alright, not touching anything.”

“Then let’s begin,” Lilith said in a tone that was just a bit too ominous for Amity’s taste.

***

After hours of poring (and pouring) over the cauldron, Amity could proudly say that she’d made a successful sleep draught, even if it was with lots of input from Lilith, and even if King had almost ruined it because he wanted to use the boiling liquid as a bubble bath. Amity doubted that the potion could make him lazier than he already was, but Lilith refused to risk it.

“He already loafs around all day,” she grumbled. “I don’t want to have to carry him from room to room.”

After bottling the elixir, Amity dashed off to write the recipe in her notebook. Flopping down on her blankets, she fished around in her pocket for a pencil, only for her hands to close around a small, neatly folded slip of paper. Amity pulled the note out with a heavy sigh, carefully smoothing out the creases and setting it to the side. She’d thought about getting Lilith to contact Luz for her, but what would she even say? Sorry for breaking down in your arms after we just met? Please hold me again? ...wait, what?

“Get yourself together,” she whispered to herself, grabbing Otabin and holding him tight against her chest. What the hell had come over her? She’d never been especially outgoing, but the only people she could remember being nervous about talking to were her parents. But whatever anxiety Luz gave her was… somehow the opposite? Instead of cold dread, it was as if all of her nerves were on fire. She liked Luz, but she’d been on-edge around her from the moment they first met. A forlorn sigh slipped past her lips.

“What’s wrong, Grumpo?” King poked his bony head into the room, rapping on the doorframe with his claws. When Amity didn’t answer, he padded over and sat next to her, rustling through a bag of chips.

“You’re gonna get crumbs all over my sheets,” Amity poked the demon’s furry side, earning an indignant squeal from him.

“You mean  _ our _ sheets,” King replied through a mouthful of food. “What’s got you down? Is it skin-shedding time?” Amity had to do a double-take.

“Wha-  _ skin shedding?! _ Why would I shed my skin?” King just gave a little shrug and went back to rummaging through his bag.

“Luz’s friend said they do, and who am I to question a twelve year-old boy’s knowledge?”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, King, but I don’t think I’ve ever done that.” The demon didn’t respond, instead opting to finish his chips in silence, swallowing the plastic bag too.

“Well, if it’s not that, then I’m lost,” he said, sinking deeper into the blankets.

“Just… people stuff,” Amity muttered, staring blankly at the ceiling. “I’ve only known Luz for a day, but she’s still been so kind to me, and it’s like my mind doesn’t know how to react. You know what I mean?” King hummed thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

“Nope, I don’t. But, as a higher-ranked Boo-Boo Buddy, I am honor-bound to help you.” The demon struck a regal pose, making Amity chuckle.

“I don’t really know what there is to help with in the first place.”

“Mkay, if you insist, then I’m gonna go raid Lilith’s storage room for shiny things.” The little demon got up and dusted himself off, flinging chip remnants onto the floor. Just as he was about to walk out the doorway, Amity called out to him again.

“Hey, King?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you, really. It means a lot.”

He gave a small wave before marching down the hallway, chest puffed out with pride.

***

Amity spent the rest of the day lazing around, trying to make headway through the books Luz lent to her. She’d offered to teach Lilith some of the human recipes she knew, but the witch seemed confident enough in her own culinary skills; Amity just hoped that included making food suitable for humans. Luckily, their dinner didn’t attempt to eat her, so she considered it to be a successful meal. Just as she was about to head back to her mountain of books, Lilith called out to her.

“Hey, kid hold on!” Rummaging through the pocket of her robe, she pulled out what looked like a small sheet of parchment. “You don’t want to rely on me to send and receive messages, so I nabbed this from my storage. Good thing King found it when he was rooting around in there.” Amity took the sheet, eyeing it curiously. Glowing letters and symbols flared to life on its surface, illuminating her face in pale light.

“Oh, no, Lilith, I couldn’t take this,” Amity said as she tried to hand the scroll back to her mentor, but Lilith just pushed it back into her hands.

“I have plenty of burner scrolls anyway, might as well get my money’s worth for that one. I can give you Luz’s contact, but that’s about all I know how to do with these things. I’m sure she’ll be able to teach you the rest.”

“Are you sure?” Amity asked hesitantly; Lilith nodded silently. The girl stood there for a moment, overwhelmed, before flinging her arms around her mentor without warning.

“Thank you…” she sniffled. Lilith froze for a moment, but quickly recovered, patting the girl’s shoulder awkwardly.

“Of course.”

Amity reluctantly pulled herself out of the hug and, after getting Luz’s contact information, headed back upstairs, eyes still glued to the scroll in disbelief. Lilith’s worried gaze followed her until she vanished.

***

Sitting curled up on her bedding, Amity typed, deleted, and retyped messages over and over again. There was no reason it should be this hard, but she’d already spent five minutes drafting texts to Luz.  _ Too stiff, _ she thought, but sent the message before she could delete it and restart.

_ Hey Luz, it’s Amity. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Lilith had an old scroll in her storage she’s letting me use. _

_ Thanks for the books. _

She tossed her scroll away in frustration, flinging herself back onto her sheets. Less than a minute later, the scroll buzzed from across the room, and Amity felt the pit in her stomach grow deeper. Couldn’t she wait until morning to answer? No, no, she had to do this now. She snatched the phone away from the opposite wall; fortunately her room was small enough that she didn’t have to get up. A new message stared up at her.

_Hi Amity! Congrats on getting a scroll! Now I’ll be able to pester you whenever I want to. I hope you won’t mind a cutesy contact name, because you’re getting one either way._ _  
_ _  
_ _I hope the books were helpful. Maybe if I have time tomorrow afternoon, I can bring Gus and Willow by and help look through them._ _  
_ _  
_ _I hope you’re feeling better today. <3  
_ _  
_ _  
_ Relief flooded through Amity’s body. She wasn’t sure what horrible outcome she’d been expecting, but she could feel her tensed muscles relaxing already. She hurriedly typed out a reply.

  
_ I am, thank you. If you can make it, I’d be happy to see you tomorrow. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Good night.  
_ __   
  
Even after Luz sent a text in return, Amity couldn’t stop staring at her scroll, rereading Luz’s texts time and time again, her eyes always catching on the little heart she’d sent. Something so trivial shouldn’t make butterflies dance in her stomach, but it did. Every single time. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she gazed at the note Luz had written for her, now delicately tucked away next to Otabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this one was surprisingly hard to write, since I know I tend to take a super long time to develop a crush, so it was oddly difficult so write about Amity beginning to crush on Luz, especially without realizing it or wanting to admit it to herself. Luz do be a major flirt, doe (whether she realizes it or not).


	6. Boiling Isles Study Sessions are Much More Fun

Amity spent the entire morning pacing around the Raven House, fiddling with her hair and repeatedly going through her rather limited wardrobe. Presentation and first impressions were everything; her mother had made sure to constantly drill that into her head. Even if it wasn’t her first time meeting Luz, she had to make up for her meltdown on that first day, and hopefully get into her friends’ good graces as well. One teensy problem, though: she’d never really had to make her own friends. Or friends in general. Lilith seemed like far too much of a shut-in to be of much help, and all of King’s ideas had to do with “asserting dominance.” But Amity was sick of silent feuds of class and wealth. The Boiling Isles was her chance to reinvent herself, create her own path to follow, even if it meant leaving behind what little she’d had in her previous life. With nowhere else to turn, she reluctantly grabbed her phone off her dusty shelf. Her call was picked up right away.

“Mittens? Are you alright?” Emira’s voice crackled through the receiver.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Physically safe, at least. I don’t have a lot of time, I just need to get your advice on something.”

“I never thought I’d see the day you came to me and Ed for advice,” Em chuckled. “But sure, what can I do for ya?”

Amity hesitated for a moment. Em was right; she never sought help from anyone, even her own siblings. But now she didn’t have her parents’ shadows looming over her, their baleful eyes staring into her soul.

“I didn’t know who else to ask. I don’t really  _ have _ anyone else to ask, I mean,” Amity hurried to correct herself. If Em noticed anything, she didn’t acknowledge it. “I, um, wanted to know… how do you and Ed make friends so easily?” There was a long pause on the other end, and Amity waited with bated breath. Emira suddenly burst out laughing, startling her younger sister.

“I thought you’d want advice about finding the meaning of life or something!” Em wheezed from the other side, failing to catch her breath. Just as Amity was about to rebuke her, the older girl cut her off. “Listen, Mittens. Ed and I still suck at making friends. Just because we’re more social than you doesn’t mean we’re more skilled or whatever. We all grew up in the same household, with the same rules. The best advice I can give you is to be yourself, even if that means being an abrasive know-it-all.”

“Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you have to say it,” Amity grumbled.

“I’m serious,” her sister replied in an unfamiliarly serious tone. You have plenty of flaws; we all do. But you’re a sharp kid, you’re straightforward, and put your all into everything you do. I still don’t know where you are or whatever you’re doing that requires making friends, but I’m sure you can knock ‘em dead.”

Amity drew a shaky breath. Maybe Em was right, even if she sure as hell didn’t feel like she lived up to that praise.

“Okay. Okay, thanks, Em. Tell Ed I say hi.”

“I’ll try to do that before he sees what I drew on his face,” the twin snickered. Rolling her eyes, Amity cut the call short. At least it was better than the advice King had offered her.

***

“You’re going to wear a hole in my carpet.” Lilith was peering over her book at Amity, who had returned to her regularly scheduled pacing around the dim living room.

“Sorry, Miss Lilith,” she huffed, but she couldn’t help it. She needed to do something, anything, to ease her nerves. After spending another thirty minutes rummaging through her sparse wardrobe, she’d finally settled on a simple summer dress. She had no idea what had made her pack it, but her over-preparedness seemed to already be coming in handy.

“Just Lilith. And you’ll be fine,” the witch said tersely as she snapped her book shut. “I’m sure Luz has blabbed to them about you being human by now, but otherwise I trust them all to keep a secret.” Amity couldn’t be less worried about that at the moment, but held her tongue. Just as she was about to begin her forty-seventh lap around the living room, Hooty’s grating voice made her jump.

“Ooh, hiya Luuuuuz! Did you bring your friends to listen to my stories? Okay, so this one time, I ate this beetle, right? But then-”

Amity wrenched open the door before the house demon could continue tormenting their guests, making him squawk in alarm. Her heart jumped into her throat; there stood Luz, with that lopsided grin that had already burned itself into Amity’s mind. She had a stain of some sort of potion sludge that had begun eating away at her cowl, but it didn’t seem like she cared. She was flanked on both sides by witches close to her age. A girl with large classes and a round face hung back behind Luz’s left shoulder, trying to avoid Amity’s eyes. On the other hand (almost literally), a boy who looked slightly younger than his peers was staring with awe at Amity’s rounded ears. She had to fight the urge to clamp her hands over them.

“Uh, Luz? You have a little something on your cowl…” the human muttered, trying to avoid the other witches’ gazes. God, why did this have to be so hard?

“Wild day in class,” Luz said with a shrug. “I have plenty at home anyway. Hazeroot elixirs are surprisingly acidic.”

“I have no idea what that is, Luz. The most I can do is a messy sleep potion.”

“Waitwaitwait, you’ve been making potions with Lilith?!” Luz squealed with excitement. “Ooh, now we can make colorful explosions together!”

“Uh, Luz? Are you going to introduce us? I think Gus’s head might explode if you don’t hurry.” The girl behind Luz jerked her head at the boy, who was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Eep! Sorry! Amity, this is Willow, our resident plant magic prodigy,” - the other girl gave a shy wave - “and Augustus, illusion-casting extraordinaire and human fanatic”

“This is the best day of my life,” he whispered reverently. Luz nudged him with her elbow.

“Don’t start pelting her with questions first thing, Gus.” She turned to Amity with an apologetic look. “This is like winning the lottery five times over for him, so I hope you’re ready to give an interview.”

“I’m already used to stuff like that,” Amity muttered, thinking back to all of the dinners and social events her parents had dragged her to. “Come on in, before Hooty tries to finish his story.”

***

Fortunately, the piles of homework they’d been assigned kept the teens occupied, so Amity wasn’t harassed too much about the human world, though the topic of skin shedding somehow came up again. Otherwise, Willow and Gus worked diligently as they talked, while Luz fawned over King, who was splayed out on her lap like a grumpy stuffed animal. Lilith had exchanged a quick greeting with the younger witches before vanishing to who-knows-where. She was kind enough, if not a bit stiff and formal, but Willow and Gus seemed far more nervous around her than Luz, who was her usual bubbly self.

“Uh, Luz, shouldn’t you get started on work too?” Amity asked once she’d successfully directed the conversation away from Gus’s bizarre theories on humans.

“Meh, I’ve already finished a chunk of it, and I have time tonight,” she replied absentmindedly, tapping King’s skull like an ivory drum, much to his annoyance. “Besides, we still need to look through those books I gave you.”

“Oh! Yeah. Right. Let me go get them.” Amity hoisted herself off the couch she was sharing with Luz and trudged up the stairs. She’d yet to irreparably damage her relationship with any of the others, so all was going well so far. Luz and Gus both had the charm and wit to keep the conversation going, and though Willow seemed more reserved, what Amity had seen of her gentle nature was reassuring. Maybe Em was right, but breaking down so many years’ worth of walls would take more than one afternoon. After grabbing the teetering pile of books from the floor of her bedroom, she carefully eased her way back downstairs, making sure to keep the tower in her arms from tipping sideways. Luz laughed when she saw her teetering down the steps.

“You could’ve asked for help, you know,” she giggled as she got up to take some of the books, dumping King unceremoniously into Willow’s lap.

“I’m the host, I shouldn’t be bothering you and making you help…” Amity murmured, though she was relieved that some of the weight had been removed. Luz gave her another sweet chuckle that made her heart ache. Hopefully Amity wasn’t allergic to her.

“Host shmost! We’re friends, not some snobs having a dinner party!” Now it was Amity’s turn to laugh; Luz had described her family’s usual company almost perfectly. They placed the books onto the couch and flung themselves down beside them.

“You’d think that I’d be buff from all the potion stirring by now,” Luz grumbled as she massaged her sore biceps. She was wearing her long-sleeved school uniform, so Amity couldn’t tell how toned she was. Not that she’d want to see or anything.

“Where do you want to start?” Luz asked, snapping Amity out of her reverie.

“Oh, I, uhh, didn’t really understand a lot of the stuff these books were about. It’d probably be easy for a real witch, but…” she trailed off, feeling her heart grow heavy with shame. Great, now Luz and her friends would think even less of her. Amity kept her gaze trained on her lap, gripping the hem of her dress.

“Alright, let’s go through ‘em and I can teach you what I know,” Luz said as she hoisted a particularly heavy book from the top of the pile and set it on her lap, scooting closer so they could both read it. Amity felt her face burn when their legs bumped together. Of course Luz wouldn’t mind. What had she been thinking? She was amazing that way. Amity tried to distract herself by watching the other two witches. Gus was entirely focused on his Illusions Track textbook, but she caught Willow’s eye, who gave her a strange smirk before looking away. What was  _ that _ about?

Before she could ponder the topic more, Luz drew her attention back as she began going over the first few pages. The duo spent the next half hour or so looking over the various books Luz had sent her while Willow and Gus finished up their homework.

“What’s with the strange symbol drawn here?” Amity asked, indicating a page on elemental magic. Luz scratched her head thoughtfully.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I figured it was just decoration when I first saw it, but I don’t think I’ve seen any designs like it before. Hey, Gus!” she called to the younger witch, who peeked over the essay he was rereading. “Do you recognize this weird symbol? The Potions track doesn’t deal a lot with texts, unless it has some dusty old recipe on it, but maybe someone in Illusions could figure it out?”

Gus peered over at the page Luz was pointing at, but shook his head. “Doesn’t look familiar to me. Illusions magic is a lot about visualizing stuff in your mind, and I don’t know how Willow would know about it unless it’s in some botanical encyclopedia.”

“Weird…” Amity muttered, tracing a dark fingernail over the glyph. She felt a slight prickling in her finger, only for it to travel up her arm like a jolt of lightning. She flinched, tugging her hand away from the paper with a yelp.

“Amity! Are you okay? Did you get a papercut?” Luz grabbed her hand, looking for any injury. The warmth of her hands gave Amity another tingling sensation, albeit a much more pleasant one.

“No-no, I’m fine, really!” Amity spluttered, yanking her hand from Luz’s grasp.  _ Damn it, why did I do that?! She’ll think I hate her now, it’s not that, it’s just - _

“Uhh, guys?” Willow cut in. “You might want to check this out.” A dim glow was dancing across her face, making her glasses flash. Following her gaze, Amity’s breath caught in her throat. A tiny flame was flickering above the page, glowing faintly. Everyone stared at it in silence, watching as it danced in the air before silently dissipating. The paper underneath was unharmed, but the symbol they’d been investigating had vanished without a trace. All eyes turned to look at Amity.

“I, uh, have no idea what just happened,” she said simply. What a rousing speech.

“Here, try it again!” Luz tore a piece of paper from her notebook and copied down another symbol with the same design. She handed the sheet to Amity, who took it hesitantly, tapping the drawing with her spare hand. The paper crumpled in on itself, bursting into flame. Amity winced, expecting to be burnt, but the flame just hovered above her palm, illuminating the witches’ wide-eyed stares. Slowly clenching her hand into a fist, the flame went out just before she could touch it, not a puff of smoke to be seen. She gazed quietly at her closed fist, flooded with excitement and pride, until Luz flung her arms around her.

“You did it! I knew you’d find a way!” Amity stiffly patted her friend’s arm, unable to keep herself from grinning. Willow and Gus were beaming at her too, though the former had given her another knowing look after Luz pulled her into a hug.

“Only because you helped,” Amity laughed. Luz seemed to snap back to reality and jerked her arms away, holding them over her head like she was being arrested.

“Sorry!” she yelped. “Sorry, I know you’re not very touchy-feely.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Amity replied. Normally she disliked physical contact, especially without any warning, but Luz’s hugs were so warm, so  _ genuine _ . It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

***

The witches bid goodbye an hour later, with Gus and Willow leaving their contacts for Amity’s newly acquired scroll. Lilith didn’t reappear downstairs until some time after, her ghostly white raven perched upon her shoulder.

“Where did you go off to?” Amity asked pointedly once her mentor reappeared downstairs. A small frown tugged at the woman’s lips.

“They’re wary around me, and rightfully so. Luz is just… unnaturally trusting.” Okay, maybe that did sound accurate to her, but still.

“I don’t know what reason they’d have to be worried about you,” Amity replied, leafing through the sheets of paper onto which she’d begun copying runes.

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Lilith, ever so fond of her cryptic messages. “Is that how you learned to do magic?”

“How’d you know?” Amity asked, shocked. She hadn’t been planning on hiding it from Lilith, but she seemed to have deduced it with ease. The witch snorted in response.

“You weren’t exactly being quiet about it.” She stepped closer to examine the runes Amity had copied down, her heels striking the floor. “I’m impressed. I knew that witches in ages past didn’t have bile sacs, and thus had to have cast their magic in a more synthetic way, but I’m surprised you found this technique, even if it was accidental.” She looked down at Amity with a warm smile. “I’m proud of you, Amity. I’ll try to take on a more direct role in educating you.” 

The human clutched her pages of runes to her chest, unable to keep herself from beaming.

“Thank you, Lilith.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Positive reinforcement go brrr  
> Both for Amity and myself. I feel you, Amity. Meanwhile, Lilith is being her usual mysterious, closed-off self, but can't keep Amity from growing on her. I sure hope that her backstory hasn't impacted her personality and character haha :)


	7. So Much for Today's Plans

Dragging herself downstairs, Amity fought off a yawn as she walked into the kitchen, where Lilith was making breakfast. No matter how many times she tried to force her mentor to let her do some of the cooking, the witch would hear none of it, so Amity had given in, though she could still feel guilt gnawing at her stomach. Lilith had already done so much for her, and they’d known each other for only a few days. Not being able to do something, anything, to repay her made Amity feel like dead weight.  
  
  


_ Lilith doesn’t need me to burden her, _ Amity thought to herself.  _ She’s already busy enough with… actually, I’m not sure what she’s busy with, but she’s got something going on. _ The witch’s secrecy and borderline misanthropy obviously had a deeper cause, since she’d gone so far as to let Amity stay with her, and could even get along with rowdy Luz. The girl fussed absentmindedly with her grudgby jersey. She’d begun wearing it to bed nightly. Sure, maybe she had shirts that were softer or better suited for sleeping, but the jersey filled her with a warm, tingling sensation she couldn’t describe. It was like Luz was there with her, holding her and reassuring her while she drifted off to sleep. Was that creepy? That was probably creepy.

“You awake yet?” Lilith’s characteristically cold voice shocked her back to the present.

“Apparently not,” she grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Lilith smirked before turning back to her ingredients.

“Well, you’d better wake up soon. We’ve got a stall to run, and Luz will be at school all day, so you’ll have to put in some extra work instead of just ogling at her.” Amity, who’d just taken a sip of water, nearly spewed it onto the table. King laughed at her from his chair.

“You’re redder than a bog beet!” he cackled, while Amity choked down her water.

“Watch it, or I’m tipping over your baby chair,” she grumbled, glaring at him.

“I prefer to call it my high throne.”

“Regardless of her hue, you two are still going to be stuck together,” Lilith interrupted before they could begin arguing more. “So please try to save the bickering for when we get back and I can go to sleep.” Muttering under her breath, Amity turned her attention to the notebook she’d brought down with her. After an attempt to get a video of her mentor performing witchcraft, she’d accidentally discovered that there were glimpses of glyphs inside of Lilith’s spell circles, frozen in time within a single frame. Amity proceeded to constantly take videos of different spells, copying down the glyphs over and over again until they were perfect. Sketching out a particularly tricky symbol, she gave it a gentle tap, eyes lighting up when the glyph began to glow. A small, goopy mass slowly rose from the paper, but, just before it could properly materialize, it collapsed in on itself, staining the sheet with purple ooze. Growling with frustration, she crushed the paper into a ball and grabbed a fresh sheet.

“If you stain my table with abomination sludge, you’re scrubbing it out by hand.” Lilith was giving her a menacing glare. Amity didn’t respond, focusing entirely on replicating the glyph properly. She gave it a hesitant touch, watching the purple abomination slowly form in front of her. It wobbled a bit at first, but managed to steady itself. The abomination gave a tiny salute before melting back into the paper. Lilith raised her eyebrows, impressed.

“Not bad,” she said, rubbing her chin contemplatively. “You’ve gotten a good handle on magic already. Abominations are notoriously tricky to master. But seriously, no slime on my furniture.”

“But they can carry my books for me once I learn how to make larger ones!”

“ _ No slime. _ ”

“Fine, I give in,” Amity held her hands up in defeat. “Let me just go get dressed and I’ll be ready to get going.”

***

She stood at the door half an hour later, tugging her beanie further over the tips of her ears. Even if Luz and her friends knew she was a human, she and Lilith still weren’t going to risk her being seen in broad daylight, so she’d be stuck hiding her ears with a hat or hood until she was skilled enough to alter their appearance with illusions. Maybe Gus would have some pointers, if she could get a word in edgewise while he ranted about his bizarre human theories.

“Alright, let’s head out before it gets even hotter,” Lilith said as she traced a spell circle in the air, summoning her bag from the couch. Amity hoisted her box of various potion-making materials off the ground, struggling to get her fingers underneath. She couldn’t wait until she could just make it levitate and follow her around. Lilith probably just made her carry it out of pettiness.

“Bye guys! Don’t get into toooooo much trouble! Mr. Beetle, Jr. and I will hold down the fort while you’re gone!” Hooty called after them as they trudged down the path. “Mmm, Mr. Beetle the First sure was tasty!”

“I’m going to turn him into a scarf,” Lilith growled once they were far enough away.

“Why do you even keep him around, then?” Amity asked. Hooty was annoying, sure, and had zero concept of personal space, but… okay, maybe Amity couldn’t think of how to defend him, or why she’d even bother, but still. “All you and King do is complain about him, state-of-the-art defense system or not.”

“He was foisted upon me by someone, and they’d probably get upset if I turned him into a fashionable accessory.”

“Or a pie!” King exclaimed from Lilith’s bag, where he was curled up as usual. Lazy bum.

_ Yet another cryptic answer, _ Amity thought. She’d find a way to root out some answers, but, at the moment, she was too focused on not dropping her package of ingredients and bottles on her toes.

They completed the rest of their hike into town in silence, save for King trying to chase some weird creature that looked like a squirrel with a scaly frill around its neck. Lilith froze as they entered town, Amity nearly walking right into her.

“What gives?” she grumbled, following Lilith’s stare. Bonesborough looked no different, but the tense quiet in the air hung around the city like a fog. People were going about their business as usual, but everything seemed hushed, muted. Figures in blinding white cloaks line the streets and glide through the crowds, witches and demons parting before them. Their beaked masks jutted out from their hoods, pitch-black eyes betraying no emotion. Amity shuddered.

“The Emperor’s Coven,” Lilith hissed. She chewed her lip anxiously for a moment before sighing raggedly and pulling her cowl over her head. “We’ll have to just go in and hope they don’t bother us. Air traffic laws are far too strict for us to use the staff. If there was ever a time to make sure your ears are hidden, it’s now.” She started forward at a brisk pace before Amity could object, her movements swift but silent. Amity swallowed her nerves and started after her.

“What’s your deal?” she asked quietly once she’d caught up with the witch. “Being a mysterious recluse is one thing, but this is downright suspicious.”

“Now’s not the time!” Her mentor’s jaw was clenched, eyes trained straight ahead. “Oh, for the love of -”

“You don’t look familiar,” a callous voice said, making Amity’s muscles tense. One of the guards had intercepted them, planting himself squarely between them and the street. The inky eye holes of his mask were no less terrifying up close; it was as if no light could escape them, but she could still feel their gaze trained upon her. She gulped, tugging her beanie as tightly onto her head as she could.

“She’s my niece,” Lilith interjected before Amity could stammer out a reply. “Her family lives up north, and sent her to spend the summer with me.” The man’s mask was still as blank as ever, but Amity could imagine him sneering underneath.

“Hood off, lady,” he growled.

“Of course, sir,” Lilith replied in a syrupy voice, tilting her head down and reaching up to her cowl with one hand, the other clenching her staff with so much force Amity was surprised it hadn’t shattered. Just as she made to lift her hood, she brought her leg up at lightning speed and stomped on the guard’s foot, making him roar in pain. A heel to the toes was bound to hurt, even through his thick leather boots. Lilith shoved him away with her staff before flinging herself and Amity onto it, who dropped her heavy box, the sound of shattering glass making her wince.

“Hold on!” Lilith shouted, and a moment later they were soaring over people’s heads, just high enough that Amity wasn’t kicking people as they sped past. King popped his head out of the bag, griping about his nap being interrupted, but his words were lost as the air rushed past.

“Oh, so  _ now _ we’re allowed to break air traffic laws?” Amity yelled over the wind howling past her ears.

“Do I need to remind you of what they might do to a human?” Lilith replied, looking dead ahead as they veered around corners and ducked under signs. That shut Amity up pretty quickly. After dive-bombing a few more pedestrians, the witch swerved into a dead-end alleyway at breakneck speed, putting on the magical brakes before they rammed into the brick wall. King teetered out of Lilith’s bag, smacking onto the ground like a fuzzy, out-of-breath pancake.

“Don’t -  _ wheeze _ \- don’t ever do that again,” he begged.

“You’ll be fine, King,” she replied, dragging him upright, where he teetered precariously. She gave a self-satisfied smirk. “Looks like I’ve still got it.” Amity had braced herself on the wall, waiting for the world to stop spinning around her. Lilith tugged her hood further over her eyes before approaching the entrance to the alley, presumably on watch for any guards.

“Is she usually like this?” Amity groaned, sliding to the ground. At least everything was stationary now.

“She usually avoids guards, but this is a new one for me,” King said, walking over on jittery legs to slump against the wall with Amity. They sat there in silence for a moment, getting their bearings, until Lilith’s sharp voice cut through the still air.

“You,” she barked, making Amity’s head dart around. She’d latched onto some poor sap’s shoulder as he was walking by the alleyway, her hand like a vice. “Why are there so many guards?” Her tone of voice indicated it was less of a question and more of a demand.

“I - I don’t know!” he yelped, visibly sweating. A hooded witch latching onto you from a deserted alleyway was bound to instill some nerves. “They just showed up this morning, and there are demon hunters around! Something about feathers and claw marks! Just please don’t hex me!” Lilith took her hand off his shoulder and he bolted down the street. When she turned around, her face was a myriad of emotions that Amity couldn’t decipher.

“Lend me your notebook and pen,” she ordered. Amity was too bewildered to argue or ask why, so she fished the items out of her pack and handed them to her mentor, who began scribbling onto the paper. Tearing the sheet out with a sharp tug, she folded it into a tiny square before twisting her palisman off her staff, its wooden feathers softening and eyes gleaming a piercing blue.

“You know where to take this, Muninn,” she said, holding out the folded paper. “And make sure no one sees you.” The raven tilted its head, eyeing her curiously, before snatching the note with its beak and darting into the sky. Lilith strode over to Amity, extending her hand.

“Come on, Muninn won’t be back any time soon, so we’ll have to slip out of here unseen.”

***

“I’m sorry for losing your stuff,” Amity whispered, eyes cast to the ground.

The trio had woven their way through the city, ducking into the shadows and peeking around corners whenever they caught sight of those telltale ghostly cloaks and avian masks. Whenever a guard appeared, Lilith would drive them away with some sort of distraction, from skillfully wrought illusions to just chucking stones to draw them away. At one point they’d even made King goad a cluster of guards into chasing him around while the other two snuck past, but he’d refused to do it unless he got extra time watching cat videos on Amity’s phone. Other than that, the trip had been made in silence, so Lilith hadn’t been paying attention.

“Hm?”

“When you pulled me onto your staff, I dropped your box of potion materials and I heard glass shatter.” Amity was wringing her hands, still avoiding Lilith’s gaze.

“It was just some cheap glassware and common ingredients,” the witch replied. “Don’t worry about it, I can replace it all with ease.” Amity’s eyes finally met hers, though she still seemed meek.

“Still, I thought you’d be… angry with me.” Lilith was staring at her, appalled. The nervous energy coursing through Amity didn’t seem to know where it wanted to go, but she pressed forward before she could back out. “When I broke one of my mother’s mugs, she was… well, pissed. I -”

“Amity.”

Lilith tentatively placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. Really. I don’t know you well and I don’t know your family, and it’s not my place to inquire about them. But as long as you’re under my roof, I want you to feel secure. Or as secure as you can be when living with a fugitive.” Amity hadn’t expected that sort of warmth from her mentor; it made the tip of her nose tingle.

“Thank you, Lilith. I’ll help you find some replacements in your storage once we get back.” She gave Lilith a timid smile, but it didn’t seem like she was buying it.

***

Fortunately, the rest of Operation Get-Home-ASAP went smoothly. The sun had already begun its descent by the time they reached the house, just leaving its perch at the peak of its axis. When he saw Lilith leaning heavily into her staff, Hooty opened the door without complaint, a miracle in and of itself. She retired to her study immediately, leaving Amity to fend for herself that night, but King was willing to help pick out the foods he thought were least likely to make her keel over on the spot, though Hooty tried to encourage her to “be adventurous.” She had half a mind to tie him into a granny knot.

Lilith didn’t come out of her room for the rest of the day or evening; even as Amity turned in for the night, she could still hear murmuring and rustling papers from her room. It seemed that questioning her about the whole fugitive thing would have to wait. It was clear that her mind was elsewhere. Amity whispered a soft “good night” through the door, but didn’t hear anything in return.

***

Muninn didn’t return until well past midnight, his beady eyes staring at Lilith as he pecked furiously at her window.

“About time,” she whispered to no one in particular as she raised the creaking window, recoiling at the loud noise. Muninn hopped through the frame, dropping a crumpled piece of paper onto the table before fluttering to perch on the witch’s shoulder. She smoothed out the sheet with shaking hands; a familiar, untidy scrawl covered it.

_ You know full well you shouldn’t be sending Muninn, especially with physical messages. I thought you were supposed to be the prudent one! _

_ I heard about the guards and demon hunters in town, but I’m fine, really. Ol’ Emperor Bellboy has nothing to go off of. If I can find time to get away, I’ll try to come see you. _

_ Take care of yourself, Lily. _

Lilith shoved the letter into a cumbersome book on elixirs. The worst had yet to come to pass, at least.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot time, baby! It's not all Lumity, even though I'm a sucker for that ship.  
> I never intended on Ravenstead being a 1-for-1 mirroring of TOH, so the story and world-building is at least semi-original, or as much as it can be for a role swap AU.
> 
> Also, I'm debating between making longer chapters that come out less frequently, v.s. going with the shorter snippets I have now. If you have preferences, I'd be happy to hear them; I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time...
> 
> It feels weird saying this, but kudos and comments are appreciated, of course. I don't know why I dislike saying that or promoting my work. I guess it feels like I'm admitting that I can't make it on my own, through my work alone? I don't know, man, I'm weird.


	8. Bring Your Human to School Day, Part 1

“What’s your school like?” Amity asked out of the blue. She was anxious about interrupting Luz’s study time, since she’d come to crash at Lilith’s house while she did homework, but the girl’s face brightened.

_ She’s probably grateful that she has an excuse to stop doing any work, _ Amity thought as she watched Luz bounce up and down with excitement.

“Oh, where do I begin?!” her friend exclaimed, before launching into a vibrant lecture about Hexside and the various deadly threats she had encountered there. Amity tried to pay attention. She really did. Who wouldn’t want to learn about magic school? But she was… distracted, to say the least. By the way Luz’s pointed ears would twitch, or by how Amity wanted to run her hands through her fluffy hair.

Amity wasn’t stupid. Even if she tended to be emotionally distant, she’d read more than enough Azura fanfiction to recognize a crush. But was her heart supposed to skip a beat  _ every time _ Luz smiled at her? This wasn’t some cheesy romance novel; things like this didn’t happen to her. Maybe if she just ignored it for long enough, the knot of nerves in her stomach would dissolve. Then why did it have to hurt so much?

_ You’re not a part of her world, no matter how much you want to be. _

“Helloooo, Amity? You still in there?” Luz waved a hand in front of the girl’s face, startling her.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just… thinking,” she muttered, looking down at the floor. Luz was doing that  _ thing _ again where she gave a mischievous little grin, and Amity wanted to wipe that smug look off her stupidly cute face. Preferably with a kiss. Was that weird? That was definitely weird.

“Aww, were you pining for me?” Luz poked Amity’s chest teasingly, making her grow even more flushed.

“You wish,” she grumbled, trying desperately to hide how flushed she was. Luz began cracking up. Even when her brain was frazzled from homework and subtle shadows ringed her eyes, she was still so vibrant, so  _ alive _ . Her joy was infectious. Soon, Amity was roaring with laughter alongside her, grinning so hard it hurt. Her mother would probably have a heart attack if she saw her youngest and best-behaved child goofing around with some crazy, tactless girl, but that just encouraged her.

“Sorry,” Amity sighed, wiping a stray tear from her eye once she’d finally gotten ahold of herself. “School. Yep. Where were you?”

“Hey, you were the one who asked, and you weren’t even listening.” Luz teased, giving her another troublemaker grin. Ed and Em would get along famously with her. “Besides, it’d be better to show you… Oh, I’ve got it! What if I sneak you into my cauldron, then I cart you along with me to school and no one will even know you’re there!”

“Luz, that’s a terrible idea,” Amity scoffed. “Nobody would fall for that.”

“Hey, you don’t know until you try it!” Luz pouted, but Amity refused to budge. “Okay, fine, which would you prefer: some bland, boring day of following me around to all my classes, or a heart-pounding infiltration where your secret could be revealed any second?”

Amity tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“The first one.”

“Oh, come on!” Luz threw her hands up in exasperation. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I used it all up getting dropped into the middle of the demon realm.”

“You’re no fun,” Luz whined. “How would we even get the principal to let a human waltz around Hexside anyway?”

“I think I could help with that,” said a voice from behind them, making the two girls jump.

“Lilith!” Luz yelped. “Don’t  _ do _ that!”

“What, walk around my own house?” the witch retorted.

“No, sneak around and scare people! How long have you even been there?!” Lilith waved her hand as if batting the question away.

“Look, do you want me to get her into school or not?”

“Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes-” Luz began chanting. Amity was still appalled that her attention span could be so short.

“Alright, alright, I get it!” Lilith groaned. “I can probably pull some strings and get Principal Bump to let you visit, at the very least.”

Luz was pumping her fists up and down in the air, still shouting “Yes!” over and over. Lilith seemed perplexed by her exuberance, as if she didn’t know how to react to that much energy. King slogged into the room with his stuffed bunny, to whom he was complaining about the uproar, trailing behind him. He was cut off mid-sentence when Luz picked him up and began to bounce up and down with him in her arms as he squealed in rage.

_ What a bunch of dorks,  _ Amity thought, amused. Well, maybe not Lilith. She didn’t really know what Lilith’s deal was. Despite how cryptic she could be, and even with the Emperor’s Coven after her head, she just seemed like a fairly normal lady. Well, as normal as a witch living with a demon in a secluded cottage can be.

“Are you alright with that?” Lilith’s voice derailed her train of thought.

“Oh!” Amity exclaimed, startled back to the present. “Yeah, sure. I mean… that sounds nice.”

Lilith nodded silently. “I probably have an old cowl tucked away somewhere, or you could borrow one of Luz’s school uniforms so your clothes don’t give you away immediately.” The thought of wearing Luz’s clothes made Amity’s heart skip a beat, but she shook the thought from her head. _ Don’t be more of a creep than you already are. _

“I’ll take you up on that,” she replied with a soft smile.

***

When they’d decided on visiting Hexside, Amity had imagined it would take at least a week for it to be sorted out, but Lilith had woken her the very next day by chucking King onto her and giving her half an hour to get ready. After tugging on a spare uniform Luz had dropped off before she woke up (how did she get up so early?!), Amity tore through Lilith’s storage, chucking aside various dresses, a box labeled “Bezoars,” and a gold/white banner that looked like it had been shredded by talons before she finally found a cowl she could use to hide her ears; she doubted that beanies were part of the dress code.

Soon, she and Lilith were soaring across the clear sky, the colossal corpse that made up the Boiling Isles stretched out below them. Amity loosened her grip on her mentor’s waist; the fiasco in Bonesborough had made her think twice about flying with Lilith, but it was much calmer without being pursued by cloaked guards. Being perched on a staff like birds clinging to a tiny branch was still nerve-wracking, but the beautiful view made the risk worth it. They weren’t even that high up, but the Titan sprawled in every direction beneath them, its bent knee and crescent ribs piercing the clouds above. It was stunning how, even in death, the Titan could bring so much beauty into the world. Even if it was pretty morbid. They slowly began their descent down, the Titan’s sightless eyes watching them ceaselessly until they disappeared into the ruddy trees below.

***

Hexside School of Magic and Demonics was, in a word, enchanting. Most of Bonesborough was, especially to Amity, but its buildings consisted largely of medieval-esque houses and structures that looked more like living creatures bursting from the ground than anything else. The school, on the other hand, was almost like a palace, with its columned entrance and domed roof gleaming in the sunlight. The duo swooped in for a landing in the middle of the courtyard, drawing stares and whispers from the students who were just arriving. Amity wanted to curl up in a ball and hide, but most of the attention seemed to be focused on Lilith, who forged ahead as if she didn’t hear anything, leaving the girl to scurry along behind her if she wanted to keep up. The winding hallways were flooded with students, but they all parted around Lilith as if she was infected. Amity’s eyes scanned the crowd, looking for someone,  _ anyone _ familiar, but she didn’t see Luz or her friends anywhere. Then again, if Luz were there, she would have probably burst out of the crowd and begun babbling with her mentor already. Maybe it was best to not cause even more of a scene.

Amity nearly ran into Lilith when she came to an abrupt stop before an ornately carved door. She struck the door with three sharp knocks, entering before anyone could respond.

“Well, that’s most unlike you, isn’t it, Ms. Clawthorne?” a man’s voice said from inside. “Last time I saw you, you’d still hide behind your hair whenever you entered my office, and now you’re barging in without permission?”

“Things change, Bump,” Lilith replied coldly. As Amity followed her into the room, she was greeted with what seemed to be an ordinary principal’s office, save the various magical knick-knacks that lined the shelves. At the other side of a room sat an elderly man in flowing robes, his bony hands folded on his wooden desk. Amity had to do a double-take; had his face been burned? As he turned to look at her, the realization made her gasp. A devil-like creature covered the upper half of his face, as if attempting to swallow him, but leaving holes for his eyes to bore through. Or maybe those were the demon’s eyes? Either way, that  _ couldn’t _ be comfortable.

The man’s eyes darted back and forth between the two visitors, a tense silence hanging in the air as Lilith trained her icy gaze upon him. After a moment, he cracked a small smile and chuckled, breaking eye contact.

“It seems things really do change, Lilith. You’re not the timid girl you once were.”

Lilith gave a grin in return. “I guess I couldn’t afford to be.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Amity interrupted, holding up your hands. “What kind of plot-twist is this? Are you secret allies or something?!”

Lilith stared at her as if she was from another world, which she was, but hey, the witch should’ve gotten used to it by now. “I  _ went to school here, _ Amity.”

“Okay, maybe I should’ve guessed that...” the girl muttered, kicking at the floor.

“It was either here or Glandus, and their grudgby team was horrid.”

“We  _ have _ trashed their team for five years in a row,” Principal Bump said, drumming his long nails on the table. “Anyway! I received your letter, Lilith, but let me clarify. You, a wanted criminal with a bounty on your head set by the Emperor himself, flew into a school with a girl only three students here have heard of and you want me to let her shadow one of them for the day?”

Lilith nodded silently.

“And is there any reason she still has her hood up, even though we’re inside?”

“Uhh… I’m balding?” Amity interjected, though it sounded more like she was asking for confirmation. Both adults gave her deadpan stares.

“Do you want a second try?” Bump asked pointedly.

“No, I’ll just stop talking.”

The principal raised an eyebrow at Lilith, who sighed heavily.

“Alright, Bump, I trust you, but I don’t know about your faculty or students,” she said in a defeated tone as she yanked Amity’s hood down. His eyes widened with wonder.

“A human? In the Boiling Isles? This certainly is unprecedented…” he muttered, peering at Amity’s rounded ears.

“I try to avoid picking up strays, but this one’s stuck with me.”

_ “Strays?!” _ Amity hissed indignantly, but no one paid her any attention.

“Well, if the Emperor didn’t want you brought to him in chains before, he certainly will if he hears about this,” Bump mused, turning his attention back to Lilith. “What makes you think I’d harbor a human in my school, much less one brought to me by  _ the _ Lilith Clawthorne?”

“Oh, please,” she sighed, waving his conjecture aside. “You aren’t exactly on Belos’s good side either.” 

Principal Bump smirked at that thought. “I suppose I can be a bit too lenient in my teaching, among other things… But what would a human have to gain from coming here anyway? From what we know, magic isn’t really their forte, though our Human Appreciation Club does have some…  _ dubious _ sources.”

Lilith looked to Amity, who nodded in agreement and pulled her notebook from her bag, into which she’d copied multiple glyphs ahead of time. She tore one of the pages out, tapping the symbol lightly and watching as the paper crumpled in on itself, combusting in a small flame over her palm. Bump walked closer, eyeing the fire curiously.

“Unconventional, to say the least… Perhaps we have much to learn from Miss Blight as well.” He cleared his throat, standing a little straighter, which, given his hunched posture, didn’t change his height very much. “Very well. I’ll arrange for you to meet Miss Noceda once the first class period ends. But first-” he paused, twirling a skeletal finger in the air. “-you’ll need more reliable cover than a hood.” Amity felt her ears tingle, as if TV static was running through them. Principal Bump pointed her toward a mirror hanging on the wall. Her shocked face was staring back at her, the tips of her ears now as pointed as any other witch’s. She ran her hand over one in amazement; she could feel the skin under her fingers, but it was as if the tip of her ear had fallen asleep; everything else felt normal.

“That should fade once you’ve left school grounds,” Bump said from behind her, examining his illusion handiwork. “I may be getting old, but I still have some prowess.”

Lilith whistled appreciatively. “I don’t know why we never tried that. Plot convenience, maybe?” Amity shot her a questioning look, but the witch didn’t elaborate. “Well, I’ll leave Amity in your care. If she’s dead by the end of the day, King will be upset.”

“Don’t worry, our mortality rate has improved a lot over the years!” Bump called after her as she swept out of the room, sighing heavily once the witch was gone. “She’s almost as reckless as her sister now…”

“Sister?” Amity asked. Lilith had never mentioned having family of any sort.

“I’m sure you’ll meet her sooner or later,” Bump said absentmindedly. Great, he was a fan of giving cryptic non-answers too. “Come, let’s get you a map of the school so you don’t accidentally wander into the Choosy Hat’s holding cell.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel sort of bad since nothing really happens in this, but it would've been twice the length it already is, so the next chapter will have more content. Seriously, Lilith, why didn't you think of illusions in the first place??? Luz would probably think Amity looks cute in a beanie, anyway... All my homies love flirty Luz. Also, Principal Bump is severely underrated.
> 
> Sorry this took so long, especially when there's so little in it, but I've had a lot of ideas but no motivation. Hopefully cranking out literally half of this chapter just today will help bring some back, especially when I have a clearer plan for next chapter. I wrote a chapter for a potential Boscha redemption/Boschlow fanfic as well, but I don't know if I'll pursue it, since Ravenstead is sort of my baby and already has an audience. Plus, I had a one-shot idea I'll probably write, too, but no spoilers, because I'm just mean that way. If you've read this far, I don't know what you're doing here. Go pick up a football or something.


	9. Bring Your Human to School Day, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just forget that I didn't update this for 3 weeks haha :)))  
> I've just had a ton of ideas bouncing around in my otherwise-empty noggin, including a new series with the Beta girls and a oneshot centered around Camila and Luz's future on the Boiling Isles. What if you... read them? Haha jk jk...... unless???
> 
> Also, 200 kudos and 3000+ hits? You people are insane. Thank you so much.
> 
> I shall now proceed to pass out immediately after posting this.

Amity was waiting for Luz to get out of her first class, leaning against the lockers. Well,  _ near _ the lockers. There was no way she was turning her back on something with teeth that huge. She was passing the by time reading and re-reading the various posters plastered on the walls, going over the upcoming Covention schedule for the seventh time in a row when a blood-curdling scream made her hair stand on end. If there were actual banshees here she was sprinting out of the building and not stopping until she reached the Raven House. The shriek came to a stop as abruptly as it had started, and students began slowly filing out of their classrooms, chatting amongst themselves. She scanned the hallway, but she didn’t catch sight of that familiar head of dark, fluffy hair, and the halls were becoming more packed by the second. Well, Luz would probably find her when she came to her locker, anyway.

“AMITY!”

Right on cue.

Luz was barrelling down the hallway toward her, somehow avoiding head-on collisions with the other students. She barely managed to skid to a stop in front of Amity, flailing her arms as she tried to keep her balance.

“You made it!” she squealed breathlessly, bouncing up and down on the soles of her feet. “Ooh, how’d you do that with your ears?” Luz still looked tired, but her eyes were gleaming with joy and her grin was as bright as ever. She leaned forward to examine Amity’s now-pointed ears, making the girl grow flushed. If she just leaned in a little closer…

“Oh, yeah, Principal Bump changed them. I guess the magic will go away on its own once the day’s over?” Amity stepped back a bit. She was never one for physical closeness or being all touchy-feely, but Luz seemed to revel in it. She didn’t mind being close to Luz; she was probably the only person Amity tolerated touching her, but it felt as if she’d burn up at the slightest contact. Luz seemed to get the message and didn’t try to close the distance, opting for a different approach.. 

“Hmm, I think your round ears are cuter,” she said nonchalantly, looking at her nails as if she wasn’t paying attention, but Amity could see the lopsided smirk she was trying (and horribly failing) to keep hidden. Oh god, did she know, or was she just being her usual oblivious self? Was she just stringing Amity along? No, Luz wouldn’t do that. She was probably just trying to get a reaction out of her. She had definitely succeeded, because now Amity could feel her face begin to burn hotter than the sun. So much for playing hard to get…

“I’m just messing with ya, even if it’s true,” Luz teased, tickling the surface of her locker to make it open, but all she got was a disgruntled growl in return.

“Are you messing with me or not? Make up your mind!” Amity muttered under her breath, but the other girl was too busy trying to pry open her locker’s mouth to notice. At least she had a chance to change the subject and avoid overheating at Luz’s words. “Where are Gus and Willow?”

“Well, Willow is probably working outside or in the greenhouses,” Luz replied through gritted teeth as she tried to work her fingers between the locker’s jaws, which seemed far too risky for the sake of some school supplies. “And Gus has illusions classes, so he’s probably in the opposite w- BWAH!” Luz screamed as her locker finally opened its mouth, only to spit all of its contents at her like bullets.

“Is that normal?” Amity asked once the barrage had ended. Luz was cowering behind her bookbag, but a pencil had still managed to lodge itself in her hair, and a red mark was growing above her right eyebrow where she’d been beaned by an eraser.

“I swear mine’s faulty…” she grumbled, bending over to pick up the school supplies that were now scattered all over the floor.

“Um, you have something…” Amity said softly, reaching for the pencil that was sticking out of the other girl’s hair like an antenna. Just as she went to grab it, Luz looked up to meet Amity’s gaze, her head brushing against the human’s hand and  _ oh no her hair was so soft. _ Amity jerked her hand back, her cheeks already tingling.

“Ah! Sorry! There was a pencil in your hair, and I was trying to get it out, and then I accidentally brushed against your hair, and then… ugh, I’ve been talking for too long.”

Luz, who’d previously been frozen in place, gave her a small, oddly subdued smile, before slapping her cheeks as she tried to regain her usual energy.

“Bah, it’s fine! Don’t worry about it, Amity. I know you’re not very touchy-feely.”

The two resumed searching for Luz’s school supplies, many of which appeared to have been chewed on by her rogue locker. If their hands brushed when they reached for the same pencil, Amity pretended she didn’t notice anything, while praying that Luz couldn’t hear her heart pounding at a mile a minute. Just as they picked up the last mangled textbook (whether it had been mutilated by the locker or by Luz herself, Amity couldn’t tell), the ear-piercing scream from earlier echoed through the always. Luz looked as if all of the blood had drained from her face.

“Oh, no no no, I can’t be late to class again!” she moaned. “Come on, we’re gonna have to make a run for it!” Without warning, she took Amity’s wrist in her hand and immediately began sprinting down the hallway, a dazed human in tow. Amity would’ve probably fainted from the sudden contact if she wasn’t busy trying to not trip over her own feet as Luz dragged her along. They veered around a corner and Luz yanked open a door, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that half of the class had yet to arrive.

“Miss Noceda? Should I even bother asking?” the beaked Potions professor asked, giving as much of a skeptical frown as they could manage with their hooked bill. Luz sucked a breath in through clenched teeth.

“Probably not,” she admitted, before remembering her grip on Amity’s wrist, dropping it like she’d been electrocuted. “Oh, yeah! This is Amity, she’s new to Bonesborough and will be shadowing me today.”

“Surname?”

“Uhh…” Luz gave her friend a pleading look. Amity sighed, her expression souring.

“Blight,” she muttered. The name felt like bile on her tongue, no matter how many times she heard or said it. Even if her family had no reach in the Boiling Isles, she’d hoped she could be rid of it for good. She could just live life as plain Amity. Or would she take Lilith’s last name, since she was as close to a legal guardian as she could get? What even  _ was _ her last name? Granted, she hadn’t even heard Luz’s surname until now. Amity Noceda had a nice ring to it… oh, no, no, no. Confess first, plan wedding second. Alternatively, bury the feelings so deep she never had to think about them again. Yeah, that sounded like a good strategy.

They quietly made their way to her desk while the teacher marked their attendance. A girl on the opposite side of the room glared daggers at them, made all the more menacing considering she had a third eye glowering at them from the middle of her forehead, but Luz pointedly ignored her.

“What’s with her?” Amity hissed as they sat down. The girl had turned away from them, but her third eye kept glancing back, eyeing the two up and down.

“Don’t even bother paying attention to her,” Luz grumbled, rummaging about in her bag. “Boscha’s just the school bully. She’s been harassing Willow since they were kids, but gets away with it because she’s rich and popular.

Amity grit her teeth. She knew that type all too well; she’d been one of them when she was younger. Granted, she was mostly forced to hang around with them because their parents worked with hers, and Blights weren’t allowed to associate with those below them. But even if she hadn’t been the one tormenting other kids, she still stood by and watched complacently. If anything, she was worse than the bullies: she could’ve put an end to it, all of the harassment and taunting, but she simply hovered in the background, and for what? Childish fear? The selfish desire to protect herself at the expense of others? Like mother, like daughter.

“Hello? Isles to Amity?” Luz waved a hand in front of her face, forcing her back to the present.

“Sorry, just… some unpleasant memories.”

Luz’s mouth twisted into a small frown. She patted Amity’s arm gently before going back to searching for a pencil that her locker hadn’t chewed into pulp. The contact was soothing, even if it made goosebumps form on Amity’s skin. She wondered if anyone had ever comforted her like that before, with soft, selfless concern. Nothing like her father’s cold, callous speeches about keeping up appearances, or her mother’s deceptively strong grip on her shoulders when they took family photos.  
  
  


***

Potions class was able to get Amity’s mind off things, at least, for a variety of reasons. For one, brewing potions in class was much more chaotic than the limited experience she had under Lilith. The students basically had to figure out the recipe for themselves, and there had already been multiple instances of cauldrons boiling over including Boscha’s (which Amity may or may not have taken great delight in). Luz, who was doing most of the work, since Amity had no ideas what any of the various squirming ingredients were, had directed them through making a nearly perfect nail growth potion, though she almost dumped the entire bottle of powdered amphisbaena scales into the pot when Amity whispered a question to her.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry,” she apologized for the millionth time after Amity had caught the jar. “What did you want to ask?”

“Luz, I told you, it’s fine,” Amity insisted, turning her attention back to stirring their concoction, the menial task she’d been given while Luz measured out materials. “Why does everyone here have yellow uniforms? The people in your first class all had sorts of different colors.”

“Yellow is the potions color,” she replied bluntly, to which Amity rolled her eyes.

“Well, I figured that much, seeing as this room is filled with yellow curtains, but don’t you have other classes?”

“Nope,” Luz responded, her nose wrinkled in contempt. “I have general classes with people from other tracks, like history, mathematics, cheese-tasting - ”

“You get graded for eating cheese?!”

“I’m lactose intolerant, so I don’t even get the good stuff,” she pouted. “But other than that, it’s potions, potions, and more potions until the end of time.”

“That sounds like a waste of time,” Amity said defiantly. “If you’re going to be studying magic, why wouldn’t you study every kind you can?”

“Exactly!” Luz beamed as her usual excitement flooding back. “Finally someone gets it! Sure, potion-making is useful and all, but I want to learn how to create illusion copies of myself, or see predictions of the future, or ride a manticore! Lilith can do all sorts of different spells, but she won’t teach me any of them!” She flung herself into her seat, groaning forlornly. Amity couldn’t help but giggle at her theatrics. If Hexside had school plays, Luz would be a shoe-in for lead actor.

“I’m sure you could convince her to teach you,” Amity said in a soothing tone. “You’re her favorite student, right?... Her only student? Honestly, I’m not sure how you know each other. She’s never mentioned it.”

“That, my dear, is a story for another day,” Luz drawled in a goofy accent that reminded Amity of the narrators of cheesy audio books. “Class is almost over anyways, and I’m sure you’ll want to hear about the others’ classes at lunch, since you’re gonna be stuck with me for the rest of the day.”

Just as she predicted, the bell screamed, signalling the end of class. The cauldrons were left behind, since the teacher would be testing the potions that evening and distribute their grades the next day, and Amity was glad she wouldn’t be given the task of having to wheel it around Hexside for the rest of the day. After saving Luz from nearly tipping over the crucible as she rushed to pack her things, the two of them set off to the cafeteria while Luz recounted that morning’s thrilling adventure of chasing some small, round monster with a giant nose through the market after it stole her doodling notebook. They ran into Willow along the way, whose forearm was covered in circular bruises where a cephaloplum had latched on in a desperate bid for freedom, but they didn’t meet Gus until they reached the cafeteria, where he’d saved them a seat near the back. He listened with rapt attention as Willow showed off her “battle scars” and Luz ran off to get food. Amity was just thankful that she’d had the forethought to pack her own lunch; cafeteria food was bad enough in the human world, and she  _ really _ didn’t fancy trying what appeared to be a steak with a pair of scrawny arms clawing at the air. The temptation to go vegetarian was becoming more and more tempting every single day.

Their short-lived lunch was interrupted by a hand slamming down on their table, making Willow and Gus flinch. The three-eyed girl from Potions class loomed over them, leering at Amity as if she was a prime target. Some of the girl’s cronies were huddled behind her, as if they were debating between joining in or just bailing and returning to their own table.

“Well, well, well. It’s your first day here, and you’ve already decided to ruin your social life by hanging out with the rejects?” Boscha sneered, shifting her piercing gaze to Willow and Gus in turn, who both began to shrink in on themselves. Amity gave her a dirty look in return, but stayed silent. If she didn’t give her the reaction she wanted, hopefully she would stomp away and find some other table to harass.

Boscha’s face twisted into an expression of indignant rage. “You know, I was  _ going to _ offer a spot at our table, instead of being stuck with these dweebs, but clearly you don’t know how to be grateful. I guess sitting back here with the trash is like living a life of luxury compared to whatever puddle of slime you crawled out of.”

“Listen, you pathetic brat!” Amity snapped, drawing on her mother’s rather substantial library of insults that don’t involve swearing. “Feel free to insult me all you like, but leave the others out of your teenage angst. You’re just projecting your anger because you’re a sad, scared, powerless child who’s desperate for the slightest ounce of attention and control. Now turn around and walk away.”

Amity had to fight to keep herself from clamping a hand over her mouth and curling into a tight ball. That voice hadn’t felt like hers. That was the voice of Odalia Blight. Like mother, like daughter. Amity had prided herself on rebelling against her mother’s attempts at control, even when it landed her in even more trouble than the twins managed to get into, but that hateful lecture sounded just like the hundreds she’d endured throughout her childhood. Maybe her mother was more successful than she’d thought. It wasn’t enough to just look like her mother’s pretty little dress-up doll, was it? She had to be molded in Odalia’s image, too.

The cafeteria had fallen completely silent, all eyes turned toward their table, as Boscha shook with fury, her hands clenched so hard that her nails had begun to cut into her skin. She looked as if she was about to turn Amity into a piece of kindling, and probably would’ve if a voice behind them didn’t break the silence.

“Well, Boscha? You heard her,” Luz said in an eerily cold tone. “Are you going to leave, or are you going to keep making a scene.”

Boscha’s jaw tightened as flames danced in her eyes, but she turned away with a huff and began slowly stalking away. Luz watched as she retreated, sighing heavily.

“She’s always trying to pull stunts like that whenever I’m gone,” she growled, turning back to face the group. Amity was about to respond, but a scream of rage tore her attention away. Something was hurtling through the air from where Boscha had last been standing, aimed directly at Luz’s back. Amity lunged off her seat, slapping a glyph to the ground. A wall of purple sludge arched into the air in front of them like a miniature tidal wave, catching the projectile before hardening almost immediately. Amity peered behind the blockade just in time to see Boscha’s telltale pink hair vanish into the crowd, followed by the gaggle of popular girls that had been hanging around earlier.

“Throwing a punch when someone’s back is turned? She’s even more cowardly than I thought,” Amity hissed, before turning to examine Luz, who was inspecting the calcified goo with awe. “Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“Huh?” Luz asked dazedly, before jolting back to reality. “No, yeah, I’m fine! But how did you  _ do _ this?!”

Amity had to fight the urge to facepalm. “Are you kidding me? That girl just chucked a flaming projectile at you while your back was turned, and you want to talk about magic?”

“Well, yeah!” Luz beamed at Amity, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “Abominations are, like, infamously difficult, and you managed to do this at the drop of a Choosy Hat!”

Amity turned back to ask Willow and Gus for support, but they just shot her looks that said  _ “this is just what Luz does, don’t question it.” _ She turned to examine the front of the wall, where some sort of many-eyed ball (what was it with the Boiling Isles and just slapping random body parts on everyday objects?!), still smoking, was buried into the surface. Turning back to the cafeteria, she found that everyone’s eyes were still focused on her. Swallowing the taste of bile that her spiteful words had left, she addressed them in the most confident voice she could muster, which, at the moment, was just a hoarse squeak. Luckily, Luz seemed to pick up on her distress and took over for her.

“Alright, everybody, show’s over!” she shouted. “Go back to doing, uhh, whatever it was you were doing! Nothing to see here!” A sense of normalcy slowly returned, though tension still hung in the air, and students kept sneaking glances at their table and muttering to each other.

“Oh God, how badly did I mess up? Should I try sneaking out the window?” Amity whispered to the rest of the group, feeling panic rising in her chest.

“Pfft, like people don’t constantly try to kill each other with magic here,” Luz teased, laying a gentle hand on Amity’s shoulder. “You’re fine. I think they’re just impressed that you stood up to Boscha, of all people.”

Amity exhaled shakily, but Luz’s comforting touch helped ground her.

“If that’s the case, then does anyone want to help me chip down this wall of frozen Abomination goop? I don’t know how to dispel it, and I’d rather not have to explain this to Lilith or Principal Bump.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amity has Abomination glyphs because I said so, and also because I wouldn't be surprised if Lilith had glyphs in some of her books for [REDACTED]. Believe it or not, I do have an overarching plot lmao, I just don't want to rush things and make a mess.
> 
> Meanwhile, Amity realizes that she might not have resisted her mother's attempts at puppeteering her as well as she'd thought. No matter how hard you work to change for the better, old habits can be hard to break.


	10. More Questions Than Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW // nightmares
> 
> I don't know if I need to TW that, but better safe than sorry...

Amity ran. Strange forms shifted in the surrounding darkness, morphing the shadows into twisted figures that would melt away as quickly as they had appeared. The pitch-black ground clung to her feet as if hands were reaching up from below, latching onto her and trying to drag her into the depths. Still, Amity ran, tearing her legs away from the ground before she could be sucked in. Her ragged breathing was the only sound she could hear as she fled… something. She couldn’t be sure what, or  _ who _ , it was, but her sense of unease continued to grow. She could only see inky darkness around her, but the shivers running down her back told her that she wasn’t alone.

Shadows erupted in front of her, throwing her backward. They writhed like serpents before slowly folding in on themselves, forming a small, humanoid form about Amity’s height.

“Why, Amity?” Luz’s voice echoed from the silhouette, stifled, as if it was coming from underwater. “Isn’t there someone better for you?”

“Wha-? No, Luz, I-”

The shape shifted again, twisting and growing in size until it took on the shape of a massive beast, its hulking wings oozing shadowy sludge as it slowly padded toward her.

“Don’t try to fight it, dear,” the creature hissed in her mother’s cloyingly sweet tone. “No matter how much you try to run or hide, our blood still courses through your veins. You. Are. A.  _ Blight! _ ”

Amity tried to crawl backwards, but she was stuck fast, tendrils of darkness wrapping around her limbs and holding her in place as the beast loomed over her. It raised a single talon, flexing its bony fingers before lashing out, its claws poised to slice clean through her.

***

“NO!”

Amity shot upright, eyes wide and unfocused. Her scream sent King a foot in the air before he landed face-first on her makeshift bed. Her hair was matted with sweat, and, when she tentatively brought a hand to her cheek, she could feel the trails that tears had left behind. She fumbled about for Otabin, who had been buried under the covers. Clutching him tightly to her chest, Amity fell back onto her side and let out a shaky breath.

_ Alright, Amity, just breathe. Breathe and count. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. _

It wasn’t real. Of course it wasn’t real; it didn’t even make any sense. But it felt so vivid, so substantial, more so than her dreams tended to.

_ One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. _

She slowly felt herself fall back into the present. The Boiling Isles. Meeting Lilith, King, Luz. Practicing glyph magic. Hexside. Lilith hadn’t seemed upset by her short-lived fight with Boscha the other day. More resigned than anything else, like she’d had to put up with such antics her entire life. Bump waved it off, too, making some snide remark about how “at least she had good reflexes.”

Amity continued to lie there, hugging Otabin tightly as she buried her face in his coarse, aged fabric. Lilith didn’t seem to have heard her scream, and King had fallen asleep again the moment he touched solid ground. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about explaining that outburst to them. Maybe she could drift off to sleep again…

No, not happening. That nightmare was stuck fast in her mind, and she didn’t want to risk reliving it. The heartbreak in Luz’s tone, and the towering beast that spoke in her mother’s voice… Amity wasn’t sure if she could go through that again. She gave her plushie one last squeeze before dragging herself out of bed. It felt like the entire world was weighing down upon her, forcing her deeper into the blankets, but she had grown far too accustomed to coercing herself out of bed when she would rather sleep for another hour (or, more likely, for as long as humanly possible). But the price she would pay for wasting her parents’ time was too steep to take the risk, so she was used to running on minimal sleep. Then again, it was often her fault she was sleep-deprived, either because of impulsive studying or because she binged an entire fanfiction in a single night, then spent another couple of hours imagining an epilogue or how the plot could have played out differently. Having an overactive imagination was both a blessing and a curse.

The sun had barely begun to peek over the horizon, its warm rays coating the sky in a golden sheen, but Amity noticed that Lilith seemed to have been awake for a while already. Come to think of it, she couldn’t think of ever seeing Lilith asleep. As far as she knew, the witch spent all of her spare time brewing experimental potions or working on something in her study. Amity had no idea what said something was, and Lilith didn’t seem keen on sharing any information with her.

She couldn’t hear any sound echoing up the staircase, so she assumed that King hadn’t slipped past her and was still conked out in her room, hogging all the blankets. Lilith was always unnaturally quiet, though, enough to have accidentally snuck up on Amity multiple times, even when wearing heels. Maybe she was just reading in the living room?

Amity peered into the room once she reached the base of the stairs, but the witch’s usual armchair had been left vacant, save a single boot that had been placed on the seat, its thin heel bent at an odd angle. Apparently Lilith wasn’t so perfectly light on her feet, after all. The sun was barely bright enough to illuminate the room, and there was no flickering light anywhere that might indicate a lit candle. She searched the entire house to no avail, not even a note left behind for her. Perhaps her mentor had expected to be back before Amity woke up? Still, this was unnaturally spur-of-the-moment for her; Lilith seemed like the type to go above and beyond when planning anything, even just her daily schedule, and she would probably warn Amity that she would be out. Still, the girl had searched through every single room in the deceptively large house.

Well, that wasn’t quite true.

There was still one room she hadn’t even seen the interior of, much less been able to investigate. Lilith’s study. It wasn’t as if it was locked or barricaded. It was just another room on the third floor, near the spare storage room where she had first appeared in the Boiling Isles. But Amity had grown to detest any invasion of privacy, as a result of her parents constantly snooping through all of their children’s belongings. The twins’ failed attempt at stealing her diary had made her even more paranoid.

In addition, Lilith’s secrecy made Amity anxious. Supposed outlaw or not, she seemed like a kind-hearted and wise woman, albeit a bit cold and intense at times. Amity didn’t think she was dangerous, but her compulsive solitude and constant dodging of questions was… odd, to say the least. Even King didn’t seem to have any idea what she was up to, and Hooty was just far too unhelpful to even bother asking. He’d spent most of the previous evening arguing that crossword puzzles could be solved by just writing the same letter in every single space. How he even knew what a crossword puzzle was, when Lilith and King both seemed confused by, was another matter entirely.

Amity found herself tracing the path Lilith took every day until she was standing in front of the entrance to the enigmatic study. The door, a simple wooden slab with an eerily realistic eye set in the timber, was slightly ajar, which was perplexing in and of itself. Amity had a knack for learning people’s habits; she had to if she wanted to keep anything confidential in Blight Manor. Lilith  _ always _ closed doors and drawers behind her. She’d even gotten in an argument with King the other day because he kept leaving cabinet doors open on purpose.

“Lilith? Are you here?” The girl gently pushed on the door, which swung open with a weary creak. As with all of the rooms before it, the study was completely empty. Amity took a moment to scan the room. It was in a state of metamorphosis, a room that had once been neat and orderly but was slowly falling into disrepair. The shelves had run out of room, so books and papers had been stacked in haphazard towers that looked like they would fall over if you so much as breathed on them. The long desk at the other side of the room was strewn with torn manuscripts, ingredients that were completely alien to her, and various other sorts of junk. The dull morning light filtering in from a high window cast everything in a blue-gray hue.

Amity tiptoed into the room, as if afraid she might set off a magical alarm system, and made her way over to the desk. Her eyes immediately fell upon two bottles, sitting near the edge of the table. One was tall and thin, with a crystalline design, and filled halfway with a light green liquid. She peered at the tag that hung from the stopper. Part of it had been torn away, but what remained spelled out only for letters: “ _ Ambu- _ .”

The other vial was much smaller, circular in shape, and filled to the brim with a thick, amber-colored substance. It appeared to be new and still completely sealed, but, unlike the other, it had no tag to identify its contents.

She let her eyes glide over the rest of the desk. A poster of the Covention, like the ones she had seen in the halls of Hexside, was spread over top everything else. The messy creases that webbed its surface implied that it had been violently crumpled before being unfolded and smoothed out again. The words “take Amity?” were written near the bottom corner in Lilith’s familiar, looping handwriting.

It felt wrong being in here. Lilith had given Amity a home, taught her magic, and indirectly introduced her to new friends whom the girl already felt closer to than any of the children back on Earth, and how did she repay her? By snooping, through her stuff. The witch had done nothing to endanger her, nothing to earn her distrust, but here she was nonetheless. Guilt gnawing at her guilt, Amity turned to leave, but something that had been hidden underneath the poster immediately drew her attention. A single long, gray feather. It could have easily been mistaken for a decorative dagger. The feather was at least as long as Amity’s forearm, and glinted like steel in the cool morning light. It rested on top of a yellowed page that looked as if it had been torn from an aged tome. The sheet outlined a list of ingredients for the golden potion beside her, heavily annotated by Lilith with recommendations for new additives, adjusted proportions, and potentially increasing dosages. Nothing about what the draught would actually  _ do _ , though…

A pile of papers sat next to the feather, too. Each one was neatly folded over multiple times, and weighed down by a paperweight in the shape of a sharklike skull. Amity shivered to think of what kind of predator could survive the extreme temperatures of the Boiling Sea. She could see writing on some of the sheets, though the sentences were cut off where the paper had been creased. Some bore her mentor’s smooth, delicate writing, while others were covered in an untidy scrawl, bordering on chicken scratch.

Amity jumped as someone’s voice reverberated around the voice. No, no, just Hooty, probably talking in his sleep… until she heard Lilith’s familiar tone, muffled by the walls, coldy berating the house demon for something trivial.

“Oh no, no, no, no!” Amity hissed to herself, carefully setting the Covention poster where it had been before, and hurriedly padding out of the study. She snuck to the couch in the living room, grabbing a notepad from the table in front of it and began scribbling glyphs from the top of her head just as the front door swung open with a gust of icy air.

“You’re up early,” Lilith remarked casually as she stepped in, ivory white staff clutched tightly in her hands.

“Oh, yeah, King accidentally woke me up and I couldn’t fall back asleep.” Amity had gotten good at coming up with excuses on the spot, given how much her parents interrogated her for any irregularity in her schedule. She just hoped that Lilith would be no better at seeing through her white lies.

The witch hummed thoughtfully as she scanned the room.

“I must’ve forgotten to close that door…” she muttered to herself, before turning back to her apprentice. “Practicing your abomination summoning, I take it?”

Visions of the inky darkness danced in Amity’s mind, of shadowy sludge twisting itself into eerie silhouettes, and shuddered.

“Anything but that right now.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE OWL HOUSE! I only watched it and got into it in September, I think, but I'm gonna celebrate it anyway and you can't stop me.
> 
> This chapter's shorter than all of the others, I think (besides the 1st chapter), but I wanted to investigate some potential foreshadowing, and develop a proper segue into the next main event, AKA the Covention, without just randomly jumping into it. Plus, I wanted to release the 10th chapter (how are we so far in already, but have barely scratched the surface?) today so it could align with TOH's anniversary. Owliversary? Anniversowlry? Just pretend I didn't say anything...
> 
> Bonus points (and a hint as to some lore) if anyone can guess what the tag on the crystalline bottle originally said... ;]  
> (No, it’s not “ambulance.” Hint: it’s not an English word.)


End file.
